Should Have Never Been
by IndigoXsoul
Summary: It all started with a creepy old house, a TARDIS blue crayon, and a trip to the Ice-cream shop. The Doctor meets someone who keeps showing up throughout his life, and he has no clue who she is. As with all things, it's timey wimey! Multi-era fic
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. **

Prologue

It was a house. It was very much so a very, very old house… filled with housy stuff. The greying paint was cracked and peeling, water stains were visible on the ceiling, and each and every timber groaned from the weight of rotten wood. A cracked mirror hung crookedly on the wall. The air, he noticed, was thick and musky. Not a single breeze floated through the room. The Doctor carefully avoided the broken glass on the floor and whipped out his Sonic Screwdriver, waving it around the room. Spinning in a wide circle, he stopped when he was faced with his companion's confused and rather disappointed face.

"It's not Miami, is it?" Donna said in an annoyed tone, folding her arms and staring dejectedly around at the dusty bookshelves and dingy tables.

The Doctor flipped his Sonic off and drew it close up to his face, studying it with an intense one-eyebrow-up stare, "Nope."

"So… where are we?" She prodded, watching him spin around again, his fingers wiping off dust from a table.

He looked around, thinking hard, "Well, I'd say… 2027 judging by the make of the furniture, somewhere in England. Sonic reads the type of dust on the bookcases as most definitely from Earth." His voice echoed down a previously unnoticed hall. He stopped walking and ducked his head in the doorway, looking out towards a broken staircase and dusty draperies. The windows weren't letting any light, but neither were the lights on… so where was the light coming from?

Donna leaned on the doorframe next to him, "Doctor," She said, leaning forward, "Why would the TARDIS dump us in an old abandoned house just a few years in the future?"

The Doctor sniffed, paused, and then turned toward his companion, a cheeky grin growing on his face, "I don't know, it's very odd, isn't it? Why don't we find out?" He rubbed his hands together in glee and continued down the hallway, not noticing the red One painted on the door that he and Donna walked out of.

They continued down the hallway, avoiding the staircase lest it come crashing down on them. There were yellowed drawings and paintings hanging on the walls. That was not unusual. The Doctor crouched down and ran his finger over a rarer feature on a residence hall-way wall. There were crayon marks, crayon marks in circles and dashes and hash marks. Drawings of dogs and cats and people and strange creatures he'd never seen before.

Donna had made her own discovery, "There's salt all over the place." She exclaimed from her own kneeling position by a doorway.

The Doctor stood, "What?" He ran over and stooped, examining a grainy, white substance. He ran his fingers through the crushed crystals, his eyes narrowing. "Good old Sodium Chloride… what's it doing on the floor?" He allowed his eyes to travel upward, up the wooden closed door. His eyes rested on a sloppily painted number. Two.

"Hello." He stood, Donna slowly got up after him. The Doctor automatically tried the doorknob. It was locked. He rolled his eyes, "Why do people always lock things?" He mumbled in annoyance. He whipped out his Sonic and attempted to unlock the door. His face then furrowed in puzzlement.

"What's wrong?" Donna asked in concern.

He turned off his screwdriver and shoved his hands inside his pockets, staring at the door with befuddlement on his face. "It won't unlock." The Doctor shook his head. He put his hand to the door, then the entire side of his face, closing his eyes as if listening for something. "It's a barrier between times with a temporal lock, even if I could open this door it would tear a hole in the fabric of time… the only question… why is it here?" His fingers tapped on the wood, "Oh, oh, somebody doesn't want us to find what's inside." He inhaled sharply and clenched his fists, "Oooh that's so _irritating_!" He turned to Donna and put up a finger, "Question: why on earth would somebody lock us out of a room using a temporal lock? Who in the world would have the technological capacity to take a regular door-" He pounded on the wood, "And turn it into a barrier…? What didn't they want us to find -  
>"Doctor..?" Donna turned away from him, staring at the door they had walked out of earlier, the room where they'd left the TARDIS.<p>

He ignored her, "- what could possibly be so important and pivotal to warrant a lock like this? This must be the reason we're here… Ooh that's good, that's very good temporal lock locking up something that's very important to do with timey-wime-"

"Doctor… DOCTOR!"

"WHAT?" He turned to Donna in consternation. It was really a great, enormous bother when humans didn't listen to him. Bad things happened when humans interrupted him… or rather, he realized as he followed her line of sight, humans interrupted him when bad things happened. "Oh, that's really not good at all…"

They ran up to the door to the room that held the TARDIS. A big, glaring One stared at them head-on. The door was shut. He desperately tried his screwdriver on the door-knob, but to no avail. Donna put a hand to her forehead, "Oh, that's just brilliant… of all the things your screwdriver _can't_ unlock!"

The Doctor took a step back in his bright red converse, the ancient wood floor creaking as he did so. This was not good. This was not good at all. His TARDIS was in that room… and they were locked out.

**A/N: Cue theme song and opening credits. Haha :D I hope you enjoyed it! This is my first Whofic so please be nice should you review. **


	2. TARDIS blue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.**

1

The Doctor leaned forward to the door, pulled out his screwdriver, and tested it. He flipped it back, an almost offended look on his face. "Well, that settles it, it's a temporal lock." He turned and walked back down the hallway, his head up and high, his eyes bright and filled with renewed interest.

Donna folded her arms and then gestured to the door, "So, you're just giving up then?"

"Nope." Came his voice from around the corridor.

Donna rolled her eyes, "Brilliant." She quickly rejoined him, where he was staring at yet another doorway in the hall. This one had a bright red 'three' sloppily painted on it. He looked at Donna, his brilliant face perplexed by this new puzzle. They continued down the hallway, their footsteps echoing through the old timbers, raising dust and more questions. Who had left the house? Who had made those markings on the walls? What did they mean?

While the Doctor tested yet another locked door, Donna crouched to survey the little crayon doodles. She brushed her fingers across them, careful not to disturb them too much. She was more curious than anything else. More and more often she saw the sketchy outlines of a little clock, each of them had different times on them, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00… all the way up to 10:00. "Well that's odd." She mumbled.

"Yes it is." Said the Doctor from over by another door, scrunching up his nose and squinting as he once more sheathed his Sonic.

Donna shook her head, stood, and dragged him forcibly over by the front of his ridiculous coat, "No, look." She pointed to all the different clocks that were spread out down the hallway.

He knelt to her level, squinted, and then pulled out a pair of squarish spectacles. "Oh! Lovely clocks, those old round ones… kind of cute almost, aren't they? Why isn't there an 11:00 or 12:00?" He said, emphasizing the o'clock by clacking harder than need be on the end of the word. His face became glued in an 'o' as he stared at Donna enquiringly.

Donna just shrugged, "Yes, of all the times they picked to write on the wall… why these? Why not go all the way up to 12:00, why stop at 10:00?"

The Doctor stood with a little half-hop, his coattails flying out from under him, "That, my dear Donna, is a _very_ good question!" He took her hand and pulled her up, "Now, let's recap… what've we got? We've got a TARDIS, locked away in a room with a big fat 'one' painted on it. We're in a creepy old house in 2027…" He paused and laughed, "I love creepy old houses! They're so fascinating!" At a look from Donna that said _shut up and get on with it_, he did precisely that, "Right, we've got temporal locks and times drawn on the wall that only go up to 10:00, and each doorway has numbers painted on them so far…" He paused, his eyes widening, holding up his finger, "You know what else we've got, Donna?"

Donna looked at him confusedly, she was _so_ going to hit him if he didn't explain, "No, what else have got, Doctor?"

"We had a staircase that was very broken, very broken indeed, so why do we now have one that isn't?" He said softly, his eyes flicking behind her.

Donna turned quickly, "What?"

It was true. The staircase they had passed now, twice, they had never thought of venturing up because of how spindly and termite-eaten it had looked. Before it had been twisted and broken, with bits missing and carpet pieces hanging off it at pathetic angles. There had been no railing, it had just been a spidery ghost of what should have been. What was there was none of those. It was a beautiful staircase, with red and green and purple carpet covering it. Standing sturdily, it was thick and supportive, looking as if it had been placed there yesterday. Pictures hung on the wall next to it, they had once been crooked, yellowed, stained, and cracked. But now, now they were beautiful and colorful, they light glancing off of their glass covers in an oh-so-gorgeous manner. Donna's mouth fell open and she blinked.

"What's that doing there?" She breathed rather lamely.

The Doctor leaned on the old musky wall, "That is a very good question, Donna Noble."

How could a staircase just have risen up out of the old one in a matter of seconds? Mind you, Donna had seen some strange things while with the Doctor… but this was starting to take the cake. She'd been a box that was bigger on the inside than on the outside, she'd seen creatures that held their brains in their hands, she'd waved at fat, she'd stopped a giant Titanic from crashing down on the city of London… but never in her life had she seen a staircase appear out of thin air.

"That's impossible!"

The Doctor grinned, and leaned forward, wagging a finger. "Ah! Not impossible, only _improbable_. I mean it might just be some sort of classic sublimation," he pulled a rubber bouncy ball from his pocket (Who knows why it was there in the first place!) and threw it up in the air bemusedly, "of all the things, this is exciting! A staircase appearing out of nowhere, I must figure ou-"

"Shut up." Donna exclaimed.

"Donna!" The Doctor looked surprised, "I beg your pardon. Ooh! Why _is _it that you always feel the need to interrupt me when I'm thinking out loud? You know that's very irritating of yo-"

He was promptly interrupted by Donna clamping a hand over his mouth, glaring her best death glare and repeating, "seriously, _shut up._ I heard something!"

A look of realization dawned on his face and then he frowned in concentration, gently removing the offending hand from his mouth. Donna was peering at the staircase in a queer fashion. He followed her eyes.

Then he heard it: a slightly waxen tink, muffled by carpet, then another, and another, falling faster and faster. It was followed by a footstep, and then more tinks and tonks. Until finally a deep blue crayon could be seen falling down the stairs. It fell a few more times, and then it hit the wooden floor with a much more harder-sounding _thwank_, and rolled up to the Doctor's old-man shoes. He bent to pick it up, his brow furrowed and his eyebrow raised as he spun it slowly to see the label on the crayon. Donna peered over his shoulder. Her delicate hand flew to her mouth and a slight hiss escaped her lips when they both read the words on the wrapper.

"Does that say -?" Donna began, choking on her words.

The Doctor squinted, pushing up his glasses as if he wasn't sure he was reading it right. That couldn't be! But, it still was. He looked at his ginger companion in consternation. "TARDIS blue."


	3. Ten

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.**

2

The Doctor took the crayon and pocketed it, a perplexed look on his face. "Right, Donna. Up the stairs we go."

Donna's mouth fell open, her voice raising two octaves, "No, no, no! Uh-uh. NOT happening alien boy! Up those stairs?" She pointed, "Have you gone daft! Anything could be up there!"

He smiled at her brightly and grabbed the collar of her jacket, "Well, in any case it's a crayon-using alien, well, child, -well…I don't really know. Why don't we find out what it is?"

Donna glared, "Don't make me slap you."

He pulled her toward the stair-case, "I'll take that as a yes. Fantastic! Come on!"

Now, Donna didn't want to be left all alone downstairs in a creepy house with two shut doors with numbers painted on them. It was creepy enough without the self-repairing staircase and TARDIS-blue crayon. So, the half of her that was scared to death pushed down the half of her that wanted to smack the Doctor upside the head. She followed him upstairs. The Doctor had his screwdriver out in front of him, pointing it every which way as they traveled softly upstairs. There was a door that was open to his left, and he turned toward it.

He frowned, puzzled once more. The time energy was getting stronger and stronger up here. He sniffed and turned to Donna, making sure she was okay before he tried to venture inside the room. Her face had that wonderful half-terrified-half curious look on it. Then, it came. Footsteps and an echoing _slam_. The Doctor whirled around just in time to see the door close in his face. A red 'four' stared angrily back at them.

Donna gave a little squeak, her mouth opening and closing like a fish as she pointed at the now closed door, "How did that- there was nobody there!"

The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at the door in an accusing manner, then snapped it off and brought it back to his face. "Somebody has a very ridiculous obsession with temporal locks." He paused, frowning up at the door, "Right, so don't turn your back to any doors from now on, Doctor." He mumbled to himself.

Wind rushed down the passag way, somewhere in the house another door slammed shut with a bang, and a soft noise was carried on the air. The Doctor and Donna both froze, turning toward it. What was that? … a-a _song_?

"_Chop chop, chopity-chop, round the blue box we go... bang, bang, bangity-bang now the Doctor's dead and gone. We wait, waitity-wait, but he will never come, so I hate, hate, hateity-hate the Doctor and his box."_

Donna turned to the doctor, who wore a very disturbed (and rightly so) expression on his face, "That's… that's a little girl singing, isn't it?" She said softly, her words gasping out in surprise.

The Doctor could only nod.

"What's a little girl doing in a big old house all alone?" Donna said incredulously, flipping back her ginger hair and throwing her hand in the direction of the noise.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out." He whipped out his sonic and pointed it in the direction of the child's song. Donna followed him down the hallway. It was cleaner up here, things looked newer somehow. The Doctor heard a glassy tink and felt a crunch from under his feet. He looked down. A picture frame was crushed under his offending foot. What was that doing on the floor? He picked it up, and a scribbled-over, perfectly defaced picture fell out. On the back of the picture was drawn a clock in the telltale sign of 9:00. He shook his head, raised his eyebrow, repositioned his sonic, and passed three more doors. All were painted in bright red with '5', '6', and '7'. He knew they'd all be locked as well.

Honestly, this was all starting to get to him. Timelord though he was, he wasn't invincible. A child singing about his death and numbers painted all over the doors in a house that was filled with time energy was just a wee bit creepy. In all his lives he'd never experienced anything like this, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He didn't know if it was alien, but something told him it whatever was causing this wasn't human either. All the Timelords were gone… so… what could it be? Being baffled was a very disconcerting feeling, one he wasn't used to. It made him feel… uncomfortable. What was more, they'd walked the entire length of the downstairs… and hadn't seen a front door. Not unless one of those painted ones had been it. How was he going to get Donna out of here and safe if he couldn't find a way back to the TARDIS or out of the house? This just didn't make any sense!

They passed two more doors, they both had '8' and '9' scrawled on them. Both were locked with a temporal lock. He and Donna looked forward, two more doors to go. '11' was shut. There was only '10'… and it was cracked open a hair.

The Doctor looked at Donna, she looked back at him. "Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to open it?" She exclaimed.

He nodded, "Well…I was planning on opening it, but-well, it might be locked, -well, locked with a temporal lock… of timey-wimey… temporal-ness…. in which case we couldn't go in, and-well, we should brace ourselves for whatever might be in there… it could be anything!" He paused in his rant when he saw Donna glaring back at him with pursed lips, hands on her hips, blue eyes dangerously annoyed.

"It's a _room_." She reached forward and flung the door open. Neither of them was prepared for what they saw on the other side.

The walls were white; a window was set in them that looked out over the street. It was open about 2 inches, locked in place, letting in a breeze and the rare sunshine that sometimes came in England's spring. On the floor was scattered a box of crayons, tipped as if someone had left them in a hurry. The carpet was littered with these little waxen art supplies in various colors. But when the Doctor and Donna looked up at the walls, it was that sight that made the Timelord lower his screwdriver, and his companion's mouth drop open.

On each and every one of those four walls, there were crayon drawings. Not crayon drawings on paper, mind you, no… crayon drawings directly on the wall, as if some naughty two-year -old had had a holiday. A naughty two-year-old that knew very much about the Doctor… that is. On the wall facing them, when they came in, there was a big drawing of the TARDIS, in all its blue police-box-ness. Next to the TARDIS stood a little crayon-drawing of the Doctor himself in his ridiculously long overcoat, suit and tie, red converse, spiky hair, and brainy specs. Donna would have laughed had she not been so shocked… because next to Crayon Doctor stood a crayon version of _her._ Crayon Donna had hair that shade for shade matched the real Donna's, wearing the outfit she wore at Pompeii. This motif continued all throughout the walls. Not only that… but on the ceiling there was a Titanic, ready to fall, and big black shadow-things reached out to grab a Crayon Doctor who held his Crayon Donna in a protective embrace. There was Crayon Doctor with his sonic screwdriver fending of Sontarans. Many more drawings covered the whole place, most were of the TARDIS, and there was also a Crayon version of that woman the Doctor had met in the Library… River. Throughout the walls in every available space between the drawings, there stood a red '10'. Some were big, some were little, but they were everywhere.

For once, both Donna and the Doctor had absolutely nothing they could say.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Thanks so much to all who reviewed (SPACER8000, The Other Indigo, and Gir'songofdoom) As well to those who have favorited and alerted this story, I really appreciate you all! You guys make my day for being such awesome readers. Also a special thanks to hunterofartemis69 for saying that this should've been in the show… that's the highest compliment to any fanfiction writer in my opinion! Hugs and Cyber-cookies to you all for dropping by! I will update soon. – IndigoXsoul **


	4. Starsong

3

How long they both stood there in utter shock, neither one of them ever rightly knew, but it was Donna who recovered first. She bent down out of curiosity to look at the box of crayons scattered on the floor, picking them up and turning them over delicately. It was the strangest pack of crayons she'd ever seen. The colors were things like "Bowtie Red", "Tweed", "Mum's eyes", "Ginger", "Cyberman Gray", "Swastika black", and "Your Favorite Color". On the back were step-by-step directions on how to draw a Dalek. Donna was baffled. It wasn't really a proper pack of crayons. The box was more like a lunch-tin than anything else, and the crayons had a look about them that made Donna think they were homemade. The wrappers were plain paper. The crayons weren't that perfectly round, nice crayon shape at all… they were a little bit bigger and slightly lumpy and none of them were sharp anymore. The Doctor bent down and picked up the crayon that said "Mum's eyes". It was a lovely cyan-turquoise, the color having a little bit more blue than green, but still enough green in it to be a greeny-blue. When it caught the light there was a hint of grey, but it was only barely there. This was the one that had, strangely, been used the most. It was worn down and broken in a few places, but still having some semblance of intactness. It was puzzling.

He was thinking. That much was obvious. Donna could practically see those little Time Lord wheels turning round and round in his big head. They hadn't heard anything from the child for a long time. There was no movement in the house, no creepy song, not even any breathing. It was a little disconcerting. The crayons were obviously hers. But how could she know so much about the Doctor? Who was she?

"Little girl lost, doesn't know where she is, but she listened to the song of the stars."

Both of them whirled to see a wiry little girl standing in the doorway. Her voice had been singsong. The Doctor recognized it immediately. This was the same girl that had been singing earlier. The lighting here was dim, but he could tell by her face and form she was about eight or nine. Maybe older, maybe younger, with her being as small as she was it was hard to tell. A mop of fluffy brown curls framed her thin little face.

Coming a little closer, he knelt to her level, "Hello, what are you doing here all alone?"

"Little girl lost followed the song," she said, "the song of the blue box. It led her to the Doctor."

The Doctor leaned back on his heels, looking at the child in shock, "You heard the TARDIS?"

The girl shook her head, "The blue box heard the little girl and then it found her. It sang her to sleep, the little girl lost, all alone." She sat down on the floor, beginning to shake. "All alone because she shut up the bugs and the lightning. Shut them up where they can't get out and find her, so she hid in a room and marked it Ten, waiting for Him to come for her… but he never came…" Her voice faded out and she closed her eyes, putting a hand to her head as if she was getting a headache.

The Doctor stood, stepping back a bit from the child. He looked at Donna, his eyes wide. "She's psychic, a class 'A' psychic… but humans weren't made to be able to handle that!"

The little girl stood, peering hard at the Doctor with those queer big eyes,"You are old, so very old, Doctor. A Lonely Angel, flying with the starsong. You have a name… but it is shrouded from sight." She paused, her eyes widening in wonder, her head fell to one side. The Doctor felt his mind opening, his own complicated thoughts becoming loud to him, opening as easily as a flower did to the sun. He couldn't stop them, no… it was more than that. He didn't _want_ to stop them. Brooke was silent for a few seconds, struggling, straining to articulate her feelings as his mind unfolded before her. Then, something in her released and she spoke directly, "Doctor," She breathed, "You're bigger on the inside!"

She mentally released her grip on him, it seemed, and his mind clanged Doctor fell back, swaying a little in surprise. His mouth dropped open. His hand went automatically inside his coat to his screwdriver, as if by reflex, and it seemed to give him some sanctuary in this new madness. Slowly, the shock faded from his face and he regained himself. Donna had never seen him look so disturbed… not since the Library incident anyway.

"How'd you do that?" He said softly. His voice was strained. "You can't just go poking around in other people's brains!"

The girl tipped her head to one side, "Brooke didn't know who you were, but now she does."

Donna crouched to her level, "Is that your name… Brooke?" Her tone was unusually gentle.

"Little girl lost, all alone, given the name of Brooke. She waited oh so long, but he never came." Something inside of her seemed to light, and she turned her attention back to the Doctor, her normally singsong voice becoming angry, "You said you'd come for me! You lied!"

Before either the Doctor or Donna had the time to digest her words, a shot rang out. Donna screamed, and the Doctor impulsively dove for her. Through the haze of smoke, the Doctor looked up and saw Brooke. She held a gun, a very dangerous, very big gun pointed directly at them. She was shaking, blinking back tears, sweat beaded on her forehead. He could hardly believe this was the same child they'd met just a few moments earlier. He stood, cautiously, his hands palm up and outstretched as if he was approaching a caged animal. He didn't want to hurt her, and he prayed he didn't have to.

"Put the gun down, Brooke, hmm? It'll be okay. Just put the gun down." He said softly. He could only hope she'd listen.

Whatever god he was praying to apparently heard him. Brooke lowered the gun slowly. Her head jerked back and forth as if she was in some horrible nightmare. She stared past him, her tortured eyes misty and pained. "No, just stop, don't make me…" Brooke kept on murmering, "I don't want to. I don't want to!"

Just then, more doors started rattling. First the door farthest down the hall, then the one after that, and the one after that, all the up until the one next to them was rattling. Brooke sank to the ground, curling up in a little ball, cradling the gun as if it were her life. Her whole body was trembling as the Doctor knelt to her level, motioning for Donna to stay back.

"Brooke," He began carefully, "What's behind those doors?"

Brooke's head snapped up, her eyes wide with fright as they looked into the Doctor's own. "They're coming. They're getting out!"


	5. Mini Screwdrivers

4

A door down the hallway crashed open. Donna, the Doctor, and Brooke all froze. Acting first, the Doctor scooped up Brooke, whipped out his sonic, and turned back to Donna.

"We have to get back to the TARDIS!" He exclaimed.

Donna rolled her eyes, "Brilliant observation, now just how do we do that?"

Another door crashed down in the hall and footsteps could be heard coming toward him. The Doctor stuck his head out the doorway. "Oh, fantastic…!" He mumbled, mostly to himself. He felt Brooke press into him in fright as they both saw the creatures that were coming down the hallway. They were pouring out of the doors, one after the other after the other. Not massive, no… they were small little spiders. The Doctor frowned… little robot spiders? The idea was positively ridiculous! They squeaked and clanged and rattled as they came scrambling toward them, and they didn't look too nice.

He stepped back into the doorway and looked at Donna. How was he supposed to explain this? "Right, Donna, there are small robot spiders bent on our destruction in the hallway. We'd best get a move on!" With that remark, he flew out the doorway, screwdriver in hand, pointing it in every which direction and hoping he could find just the right frequency to delay them.

Now, had Donna been a much more inexperienced space-traveler, and known the Doctor less, she would have thought he'd gone completely and utterly mad. But as she looked out the doorway, she blinked. Yes, those really were a lot of bloomin' metal spiders, and yes… they looked quite angry. The Doctor in his oh-so-heroic way was waving his screwdriver about fending them off, all while carrying Brooke with one arm as she clung onto his overcoat with all her might. Had Donna been in a very different situation, she might have found it touching.

The Doctor turned back to face her, "Hurry up, Donna! Haven't got all day!"

The 11th door crashed down behind Donna, metal spiders fast closing the gap between them and her. Donna had no trouble running after the Doctor as he pointed his screwdriver left and right down the hallway.

The Doctor ran down the hallway, waiting for a few seconds whenever he could to allow Donna to catch up to him. By the time they reached the staircase she was by his side. The floor behind them was covered with spiders, the floor in front of them was fast becoming filled as the doors downstairs rattled and crashed to the ground. The clacking and squeaking and chattering of the metal spiders was defeaning. Had it been ten, or even twenty he would have had no problem with settling them with his screwdriver… but in these numbers? Not a chance. He looked down at Brooke, who, during this whole ordeal, had rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled deep within his chest, her little fingers fisted around handfuls of his coat.

"Brooke, can you get us to the TARDIS?" He had to shout above the din. He assumed she could, she had said she was the one who'd locked the doors, hadn't she? He'd have to figure out how she'd managed that later. He had more pressing things to think about… like spiders.

He felt a small nod into his shoulder, and smiled a bit. He pointed his screwdriver down the stairwell and parted a path for them. As they ran, the Doctor looked at Donna, "I hope you're not afraid of bugs!"

Donna rolled her eyes, panting a little, "Not a chance."

"Good, because there's one on your back."

Donna skidded to a halt, "What?" She looked behind her just in time see the Doctor fend off an approaching nasty from her shoulder. "And you didn't tell me sooner?"

The Doctor gave her a cheeky smile, "Where would be the fun in that?"

As they rounded a corner, Donna shot him a death-glare. "I hate you!"

"No you don't!" He looked behind them, seeing the bugs fast gaining, "Oh… keep going!"

Every few feet the Doctor turned and fought off the bugs, he was getting close to just the right frequency. Funny machines, those bugs… quite resilient, and yet they were so odd. He'd never seen anything like them. That in itself was disturbing. What were they? A few more taps, and finally he reached the right frequency for them. One little bug after the other exploded into a couple pieces in a flurry of sparks. The others just kept on coming. The Doctor forgot his momentary glee and ran after Donna, who was approaching the room that held the TARDIS.

They stopped in front of it, and the Doctor set down Brooke reluctantly. She turned to the Door, and he took a protective stance in front of the child and Donna, waving his screwdriver. "Right, you rickety metal bugs," He mumbled behind set teeth, "Just you and me… because you're not getting to them."

He clicked on his screwdriver, feeling his familiar vibrations in his hands and hearing the delightful little whir it made. Then, he started beating back those bugs. As he did, he became faintly aware of another whirring behind him. He looked away from his targets for a few seconds. Brooke was using a little sonic screwdriver, and it was unlocking the door. He paused. It wasn't _his_, but how many people had sonic _screwdrivers_? It didn't look like the one River had shown him in the library, but it didn't look like the one he held in his hand either.

"Where'd you get that?" He asked incredulously between blasts of sonic in the general direction of the spiders.

Brooke looked back at him in surprise, "The Doctor made it for the little girl so she could shut up the bugs whenever she wanted and always be safe."

He looked at her oddly, "No, I didn't!" He turned to Donna, "Did I?"

Donna gave him a look that said _'you're the Time Lord, you twit, how should I know?'. _He shot another blast of sonic absentmindedly. How could he have given Brooke a screwdriver…? She was from his future, obviously, but… why was she _here_? Not to mention _now_? He turned to Brooke again, his face pinching as he thought, "Who are you, really?" He asked.

Brooke turned to him from her work at unlocking the door, "Brooke."

Just then, he heard a metallic clitter clatter that sounded much, much closer than it should have been. Donna yelled from behind him, "Doctor!"


	6. River

5

The Doctor turned in time to see one of the spiders making a colossal leap for him. He raised his screwdriver, but it was too late. The creature was on him, crawling all over him. His body convulsed as electricity ran through him, both his hearts skipping a beat from the jolt. Pinchers were coming nearer and nearer his throat, he couldn't stop it!

He was faintly aware of a crash and a bang, and then the bug on top of him shattered and fell to the side, curling and smoking. A hand pulled him up onto his feet, and he was met face to face with none other than River Song.

She smiled at him, "Hello, Sweetie!" She sent more rounds past his ear into the Spiders without even taking a glance. She was surveying him. "Well," She sighed, "You're not exactly the Doctor I was supposed to meet here… but, you'll have to do."

The Doctor stared at her, his mouth gaping like a fish. He knew he'd see her again… but of all places, _here_? She was a sight, most certainly, her hair was fluffier and crazier than ever, her clothes were a little mussed from running, she wore a device around her wrist and two guns holstered to her hip. That wasn't the strangest thing, though… there were little black tick marks all over her arm. She followed his gaze and then grabbed his coat collar, shooting more spiders that were advancing.

"We have to hurry." She turned toward the door, which, the Doctor noticed, had been kicked in. "There's nasty creatures all over this house… Silence, they're called. We have to get out of here."

Donna took Brooke's hand and followed after River, "Hold on just a bloody minute, how come we haven't seen any!"

River turned toward Donna, her face extremely serious, "You don't _remember_ seeing them. They're memory proof, as soon as you look away… you won't remember you saw them."

Donna felt a shiver go up her spine as she looked around the room. River shut the door behind them, and Brooke locked it. River smiled down at the girl, ruffled her hair absentmindedly and then looked back at the Doctor, "That'll hold them for a while."

He nodded, "Right! All aboard the TARDIS, then!" His voice was once more cheery as he tried to disguise his worry. These Silence creatures didn't sound good, not good at all… When they had gotten inside, he turned to River, "Alright, Dr. Song… where to?"

River smiled at him, "2005, London if you please, I need to meet someone there."

The Doctor looked at her enquiringly, "Who?"

"Spoilers."

He huffed and began pressing buttons. River came over and placed a black marker into his hand, "You'll need this. If you see a Silence, mark your arm, then, if you look away… you'll know."

He gave her an unfathomable look, but nodded. Walking over to Donna, River gave one to her as well. This was all beginning to give the Redhead the creeps.

"Right, I'm just going to go run myself a hot shower… it's safe here, on the TARDIS… right?"

The Doctor's voice was filled with indignation, "Safe on the TARDIS… of _course_ it is!"

Donna nodded, "Right, 'course it is."

She walked down the TARDIS halls, thankful for the bright, cheery lighting the Old Girl provided. This whole business was absolute nonsense! Honestly, the house had been bad enough… but then there was that girl, Brooke. She had looked into the Doctor's mind! Then those… those _spiders_, what the hell were those all about? There had been so many, and then the Doctor had almost…

No, she stopped her thoughts right then and there, the Doctor was _fine_. Chiding herself for her fears, she turned down the hall into her room. It was a bright eggshell blue, just how she liked it, the bed was identical to the one back home, as was most of the furniture. She checked her appearance in the mirror, and stepped into the adjacent bathroom to run the water.

Fixing herself a cuppa, chamomile -that was something the Doctor always prescribed after a particularly strange adventure – she sat down on the couch to relax. The TARDIS soon had her shower water at just the right temperature. It was nice having a ship who knew you well enough that way… at first, it had freaked her out… then the Doctor explained to her that for all intents and purposes the TARDIS was female. She had cheekily asked him if that made showers awkward for _him_. He had simply given her a look that said he thought she'd gone mental.

Donna finished her tea and stood, peeling off the layers of clothes. The shower would be absolutely glorious. She checked herself one more time in the mirror and froze. She looked down at her arm… one black tick mark.

She looked back up at the mirror, and screamed. Her face was covered with them. Not thinking, not feeling anything but absolute shock and fear, Donna ran.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Apologies for such a short chapter, but it's really just a plot-twist chapter/cliffhanger chapter, so the next one will be back to normal length. (evil laugh)


	7. Silence

6

"Well, I suppose you think you can fly it better." The Doctor huffed.

"Yes, actually, I can. I don't leave the brakes on." River threw a few levers, walking around the TARDIS controls.

The Doctor glared, gesturing to her holsters, "Well… I… I don't have to use _guns _to solve situations!_" _

"And if I didn't use guns then you would have been subject to death by spider!" River retorted.

"Well, I-I… you…"

River raised her eyebrow at him. He shut his mouth, gave a little frustrated noise at not being able to come back with a remark, and went back to punching buttons furiously. Brooke had been watching the whole conversation with much bemusement over her Jammy-Dodgers. The Doctor had insisted she try them… and she was quite content.

There came a frantic pitter-patter of bare feet on TARDIS floor, they all whipped around to see what the matter was. Donna burst out into the control room, breathless, terror-stricken, covered only in black tick marks and a Disney-princess towel.

The Doctor reacted first, clapping his hand over his eyes, "_Donna_!" He shrugged off his coat and held it out in River's direction. Drawing her gun, River took the coat, wrapping it around Donna before pointing her sidearm down the hallway. "Doctor, you can look now." She turned to Donna, "Disney-Princess, eh?"

Donna glared daggers at her, wrapping the Doctor's coat around herself indignantly "Oh shut up."

The Doctor removed his hand from his face slowly, finger-by-finger. When he was _absolutely_ sure it was safe to look, he picked up Brooke and ran down to where the two women stood. "How did Silence get in the TARDIS?"

River began walking down the hall, "I don't know… but apparently you forgot to lock to door."

He glared, "I never forget to lock the door!"

"Oh, which explains how _Silence_ got in the TARDIS! This place is huge, it could hold any number of them for any period of time!" River hissed back.

Donna rolled her eyes, "Oi! Can you two stop bickering and _focus _please?"

The Doctor ran back to the controls, pressing a million buttons and bringing up images on the screen. River never tore her eyes off of the hall. Curious, Donna ran back up to where the Doctor was, "What are you doing?"

"Isolating the creatures. If I compress the size of the TARDIS down to just one other room… then we can get them _all_ in one place and consequently… get them _all_ out of the TARDIS."

"Or shoot them all." Came the mumbled comment from River.

"Is that a good idea?" Donna exclaimed, "I mean, all those creatures locked up in one room close to us? Is that _really_ a good idea?"

"Better than never knowing if you'll run into one while you're on the TARDIS for the rest of your life, love!" River called back.

"Right, okay." Donna's heart was pounding in her chest. She couldn't remember what those creatures looked like, but she wasn't too sure she _wanted_ to.

The Doctor's mind was on other things as his quick fingers moved over the controls, "What I don't understand… what would a big lot of aliens want? Why are they here? Why were they in that house for that matter?"

River turned toward the Doctor, something flickering across her face akin to sadness… she nodded toward Brooke, "They want her."

The Doctor looked at her very hard, "How do you know that?"  
>She smiled sadly. "Spoilers."<p>

He pressed one final button, "Ha! There!" Through the doorway of the TARDIS control room, there were visible hundreds upon hundreds of creatures. Their faces were skeletal, they had tapering hands and forms, most were dressed in suits. Donna's eyes widened, the memory of them in her bedroom suddenly flooding back.

In a reflex, River reached down, marked her arm a couple times, and then lunged forward and closed the door. Breathing heavily. "Now what?"

The Doctor blinked, "Now what, what?" He then looked at her arm, this was going to get very annoying if he kept forgetting, didn't they make brain drives for this type of thing? "I'm not sure… you can't possibly shoot that many, can you?" He nodded toward the number of marks on River's arm and Donna's body. River gave him a look that said '_ya think?'_, and he nodded, "Right. Hold on everybody. We're going into space."

The TARDIS erupted as the Doctor pulled the take-off lever. Donna held onto the controls, and River held onto Brooke. The Doctor ran about, dinging bells, pushing buttons, and all out attempting to fly the ship in his usual haphazard way. There came a crackling, a snapping, the smell of burning metal. Donna whipped her head around, "Doctor…?"

The door to the room that held the Silence was erupting in electricity. The Doctor's eyes widened, "No, no, no! They can't _do_ that!"

River rolled her eyes and released the safety from her gun, "Well, they are." She turned to the Doctor, "Look at me, I can get Brooke out of here safely… but you need to trust me."

The Doctor swallowed hard, "And just how would you manage that?"

River held up her wrist, showing off the device strapped to it, "Vortex Manipulator. Please, you have to trust me enough to let me do this. It's important."

Her eyes pled with him, and he struggled for a moment. Trusting his own life to River was one thing, but Brooke's? Was that fair? What if River was an enemy? What if she wasn't who she seemed to be? He could be putting Brooke in danger… but, as he reasoned with himself… she was in danger either way. He looked from River, to Donna, to the door, and back again. River knew his name. She knew his _name_. She would give her life for him, even though she didn't know that yet…

He grabbed her arm quickly as she began strapping the Vortex Manipulator on Brooke's arm, "River, it only works on one person."

River looked back up at him, "I know. I'm sending her to an ice-cream shop in 2005, London… there'll be someone waiting there for her. He'll be expecting both of us… but it can't be helped."

"Okay."


	8. Icecream

7

The Doctor watched from over at the controls as River slipped the Vortex Manipulator onto Brooke's arm. It was much too large, of course, but neither seemed to mind. However, Brooke was looking increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of going alone, and the Doctor was beginning to question his decision to let River send her.

He flipped a few levers and brought a screen up on the console. A fear was growing in the back of his mind. Donna voiced it first, just as River was finishing strapping the device onto Brooke. "What if that bloke you're sending her to isn't there?"

River only smiled that knowing half-smirk that the Doctor was beginning to be quite acquainted with. "He will be. He always is." She cupped Brooke's face between her hands gently, a gesture not unnoticed by either of the others in the room. Her face turned serious, almost sad as she looked into the child's eyes. Then, putting on a smile for her, she said, "Now, when you get there, just look for the young man in the bowtie and the funny-looking red hat. You can't miss him. We'll be right behind you."

Brooke nodded mutely, and River ruffled her hair again. She stood, looking at the Doctor, "Just sonic the Vortex Manipulator, if you please."

The Doctor blinked; didn't she have a sonic screwdriver? But, as she stood, staring at his face expectantly, it was clear she didn't. He found the correct setting, hearing the familiar whir in his ears as Brooke faded away. A lump grew in his throat, and he wondered if he'd made the right decision… there was no turning back now. It was likely he'd never see Brooke again, and between River's spoilers and Brooke's mysterious speech… he'd probably never find out who she was either. It was going to seriously bug him, never knowing. It always did. But, right now, there were more pressing things than his own thoughts. The door to the control room was fast melting under the constant barrage of electricity.

"Right!" He whirled toward the console, flipping switches, pushing buttons, and muttering to himself unintelligibly. "River, I want your gun out in case they break in before I've got this fixed. Donna, behind the console _now_."

River wasted no time in snapping into action and pulling out both her side-arms. "What are you planning on?"

"I'm going to push this big red button over here, mess with the vortex accelerator, bang the bell three times, type a few things, and then skank the diddlywonk."

River rolled her eyes, obviously not impressed. "Ah. You're going to have the TARDIS put in airlocks, which you can open to suck all the Silence out into deep space."

His mouth gaped like a fish a few times, and then he went about pushing a couple completely different buttons. "Yes."

She smirked, "I love it when you're clever."

He leaned forward on the controls, "Oh really?"

"Oh yes."

"Good to know."

The door crashed open, falling in a melting heap. The Doctor turned back to his controls, frantically trying to coax the TARDIS into making a new door while River (without even a glance back) shot the first Silence that found its way through. She whirled, both guns blazing, shooting the Silence flooding through the door.

"Could use a door right about now, Doctor!"

"Working on it!"

It was getting harder to kill each Silence, bottlenecked though they were, River was hopelessly outnumbered. One Silence began to raise his hand, the mouth forming into the characteristic 'o' of glee as River was distracted with shooting three others. Electricity hit her, her body spasming.

Donna ran forward, wrenching a piece of god-knows-what from the TARDIS. The hunk of metal quickly collided with the back of the Silence's head. It released River in surprise. That gave the other woman just enough time to shoot it. It fell to the floor with a surprised moan. Blowing the smoke from her gun coyly, River smirked at Donna, "Nice."

Donna shrugged, her voice a bit breathless, "Ah, yeah, well… you're welcome."

River whipped her gun out shot one more Silence just as the TARDIS placed another door to lock them securely in the next room. There was absolute quiet as the TARDIS let off a few indignant sparks because of all the action. Both women turned, hearing the awkward strangled noises from the Time-Lord as he stared at the gun-fire blackened wall, the piece of the TARDIS that Donna held in her hand, and the Silence strewn about the floor.  
>"My <em>wall!<em>" He punched a button angrily, "Donna, you can't just go grabbing whatever you please off the TARDIS!"

Donna rolled her eyes, setting down the metal bar, "Oh shut your gob, Spaceman, the TARDIS can deal with it. She's a big girl."

The TARDIS hummed.

Turning, the Doctor told the TARDIS to finish putting in the air-locks in the next room, which she gladly did. Smiling, he then pressed the button. The group watched as the Silence all careened into deep space, flailing their arms and looking quite, quite surprised.

"So, now what?" Donna asked suddenly.

"Can I have my coat back?"

The redhead rolled her eyes. After all that had just happened, all he could think about was that ridiculous coat of his. "Yeah. Let me shower first."

"Please." He snipped back.

She stuck her tongue out at him and then walked back to her room. The TARDIS had expanded to her original format, thankfully, and everything was exactly how Donna had left it… minus those creepy Silence creatures. It was quite frustrating that she couldn't even remember what they looked like.

Back in the control room, the Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets, flipping switches and banging on the bell as if nothing had happened.

"Where to, Doctor?" River asked nonchalantly, slipping off her trademark heels and hanging them off of the TARDIS controls.

The Doctor promptly whirled over to her, plucked the shoes off his controls, and placed them back in River's arms. "Earth, 2005." He smirked, "You _did_ tell Brooke that we'd be right behind her, after all."

She put her hand over his, staying his twitching fingers over the flight button, her eyes staring back at him with an imperceptible look. "Just me."

The Doctor looked hurt, "Why?"

She turned away from him, smiling to herself half-sadly, half amusedly. "Spoilers."

The Doctor was too busy flying the TARDIS to realize she'd slipped the pack of crayons into her bag, giving the new bulge to the bag a loving pat before slinging it over her shoulder. As they landed, she walked over and gave him a fond kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you soon, Doctor."

With that, River Song swaggered out of the TARDIS, closing the door with the snap of her fingers, walking into the ice-cream shop to meet the strange man in a bowtie, and the girl with her own sonic screwdriver.

The Doctor wouldn't see her again until the crash of the Byzantium.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So! In the next chapter, the characters and setting will change. Apologies for any confusion, but as long as you read the author notes you should be fine. Darn for not being able to have a "multi-era" character selection. :P The next part of this fic will be 11/Amy centered, with a dash of River and of course, Brooke. I hope you enjoyed this update, and I'm sorry it took so long to get up, but spring break just ended and so my school-schedule is absolutely congested. I'll try to update as fast as I can, but bear with me! Reviews would be much appreciated.


	9. Paris

**A/N: **So this part of the fic is set directly after the episode, "Vampires in Venice", just to get you all oriented. We're on to 11 and Amy and Rory now, with a side of River and Brooke.

* * *

><p>8<p>

The Doctor spread out his arms in glee as he stepped out of the TARDIS, "Ah, Paris, 1889! An old city bustling with new excitement!" He turned toward the couple that followed him, "How does dinner in front of the Eiffel Tower sound, you two?"

A smile broke out on his face as he watched his companions' obvious excitement at the idea as Amy jumped up and down and hugged Rory, and Rory simply hugged back in surprise. The smile quickly dissipated as Amy drew him into the hug as well. "Yes… yes, hugging!" He said awkwardly, "Hugging is good!"

When Amy's excitement had died down, she asked, "So why 1889, Doctor?" He shrugged, and Amy's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Really! Is it too much to ask for me and Rory to go on a date somewhere romantic without you scooting off to fight aliens while we're at it?" She grumbled.

The Doctor pouted, "Oh come on now, Amy, it's not my fault there were vampire fish from space in Venice."

Amy shot him a pointed look and then grabbed Rory's hand, "C'mon, Rory… let's go see Paris!"

The Doctor sighed, rolled his eyes, and then quickly followed on their heels. There was no telling what kind of trouble those two might get into! To be honest, he did feel a little guilty about the whole fish from space thing… it had been rather messy and confusing and quite dangerous, and he had just wanted to take Amy and Rory somewhere nice. Hopefully, this Paris thing would go off without a hitch. They entered on to a wide green, and Amy took a deep breath, a smile spreading on her face. Before them, standing tall, shining, and impossibly new, was the Eiffel Tower. The sun set behind it, setting the proud monument on fire as the group stood. Amy and Rory were in awe, and the Doctor felt a little pang in his heart. It used to be that things like this would excite him… but he'd seen so many more beautiful sunsets against more beautiful buildings. He honestly couldn't see the joy in it anymore. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked quietly on as Rory and Amy spread down the picnic basket they'd gotten out of the TARDIS and sat together on the grass, exchanging good-natured banter and flirting.

"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to come have some jammy-dogers?" called Amy's Scottish brogue from over at the picnic blanket.

The Doctor's ever-present grin returned and he ambled over on gangly legs he was still getting used to. He slipped off his jacket in the mild summer evening air and slung it over his shoulder as he sat, "I suppose you haven't got any fish fingers or custard?" he joked.

"Actually," Amy rummaged around in the picnic basket and pulled out two containers just for him, "We do!"

His grin widened impossibly and he took them, his face lighting up like a child at Christmas. He pulled the tops off of the containers and dipped one of the fish fingers in the yellow custard and bit into it, his eyes closing in sheer bliss.

Rory's nose wrinkled, "That's disgusting."

The Doctor snatched his container back as if the other man was about to steal it, "No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes, it is!"

"I'll have you know that it's all Amy's fault I like it."

Amy's mouth dropped open, "That's not true! Just because some raggedy man shows up on my doorstep and demands food does _not_ make it my fault that he decides on fish fingers and custard!"

"Well, it's your fault you had it on hand!"

"It's your fault for eating it!"

The Doctor raised his finger, about to say something, and then shut his mouth. He folded his arms and then went back to sulking over his fish fingers and custard.

Amy rolled her eyes and bit into a cucumber sandwich, "You're such a child."

"I am not!"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

The Doctor polished off his strange meal, and the Ponds took out a bottle of wine, cracking it open and sharing a kiss. Admittedly, it was a little awkward to be a third party, on the outside, the Doctor didn't terribly mind. It was like this all the time on the TARDIS even when they weren't out on datey-things. He couldn't help but wish he had someone to share the Parisian lights with himself. They looked so incredibly beautiful, the new tower sparkling against the star-lit sky, the city coming to life like a sea of candles. A pang of guilt shot through him when he thought of his own family that had died on Gallifrey. He sighed softly and stood.

Amy looked at him with a question in her eyes, "What's wrong, Doctor?"

He shook his head and smiled at her, "Nothing, Pond. I'm just going to give you two, some… uh, privacy." He gestured to the pair rather widely with a flourish and then stood there for a few seconds awkwardly before ambling off, hearing Amy's amused giggles behind him.

The Doctor walked down the street under the strung lights, hands in his coat pockets, hair flopping. He didn't really know where he was going – he wouldn't go far. He didn't want to leave the Ponds alone in a completely different time period. But right now, he just needed some time to himself. He always did after a particularly exciting adventure, and Venice had proved to be quite exciting. His feet struck the pavement as he walked, completely unaware of the people around him. He was an odd sight, he knew, and frankly… he'd stopped caring about that a long time ago.

But, maybe the Doctor should have paid just a little more attention that night, because as he passed an alleyway, a metal spider scuttled quickly through the shadow.


	10. Spiders

9

Amy and Rory continued to sit under the Parisian lights, enjoying the view of the new Eiffel Tower. Amy wondered what could possibly be wrong with the Doctor. That look on his face, it had been so pensive. Yes, pensive was the word for it. It wasn't anything unusual for him to have a look about his face that said he was thinking of a million things at once, but this look had been different. She hadn't seen him look so, so… _depressed_. He had looked so pained and guilty, and yet completely aware and worried for the future. Amy leaned her head on Rory's shoulder, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The Doctor would be fine. He always was. He'd find some new alien and forget all about his problems. That's how this usually worked, right?

Rory put his arm around her, kissing the side of her head and resting his head on hers. He honestly didn't know what to make of the whole adventure, Venice had been enough. What if something happened to Amy here in Paris? While he knew Amy was enjoying herself, as he stared into the areas of the city that was darkening as the night wore on, it just felt ominous. Would traveling with the Doctor always be like this?

Amy's ears pricked up as she heard a sound in the direction of the Tower. She stood, and Rory reached for her, "Amy?"

The sound came again, it was like a clitter-clatter… but… oddly enough, she couldn't place it. "Shut up, there's something moving over there."

She took a torch from their picnic basket and moved towards the sound, Rory stood, standing on the picnic blanket uncomfortably. "Shouldn't we wait for the Doctor, or something?"

Amy ignored him, and Rory gave a little noise of frustration and rolled his eyes, following her. She pointed the torch toward the base of the Tower where she heard another scuttle. Her brow furrowed in concentration, as she tried to zero in on the cause of the noise.

Finally, something caught the light of her torch, a metallic shine, a flurry of metal legs, "There!" Amy exclaimed, "Did you see that?"

Rory frowned, "No?"

Amy rolled her eyes and then pointed her torch again, catching the creature in the beam of the flashlight, Rory spluttered and Amy gasped as they stared at the stunned… whatever it was. It was odd looking, wicked. Metallic and harsh, the moonlight glinting off of its steel mandibles, standing in front of them there was a metal spider. It wasn't any bigger than Rory's hand, but nevertheless, it was threatening enough.

Amy swallowed, "That's a… a spider… it's a metal spider, okay." She'd seen worse.

The bug began to move about, slowly recovering the shock from the sudden beam of light. It was making horrible, grating, clacking noises, its feet rattling along the ground. It lunged forward, and Amy and Rory leaped back. The bug backed up, scuttling first from one side to the other, unsure of what to make of the sudden interruption to… to whatever metal bugs _did_.

They stood there, sizing each other up for a while. Rory swallowed, stepping slightly in front of Amy as the bug began inching closer to them. The air was thick as the humans backed up and the bug advanced. Both parties seemed unsure about what to do. Amy wasn't exactly fond of bugs, and a metal bug that could potentially do or think or be anything from anywhere was starting to terrify her. Rory wasn't faring much better, but he needed to protect his fiance, so he put on a brave face.

Whatever ideas of holding their ground the two humans had, they were quickly uprooted when the spider leaped without warning. Amy screamed, Rory yelled, and the bug let out a murderous hiss. It latched onto Rory's face, electricity traveling from the bug into the young man's brain. Amy froze in place. Her mind simply stopped. She couldn't think, she couldn't move, she didn't know what to do. Rory just stood there, his body shaking, wracked with electricity, the bug screaming with delight with the pain it inflicted. It was a scream that quickly turned to fright.

There came a familiar whirr, and the bug fell to the ground, curling up like all spiders do when dead. Amy rushed forward to catch Rory as he fell. "Rory!" Her voice was frantic, she fell to the ground with him, cradling his head in her lap. Out of nowhere, the Doctor knelt beside the couple, his screwdriver out scanning the nurse's body to check on the damage.

The Doctor sat back on his heels, oh this was entirely his fault! He shouldn't have left them! He was slightly in shock at the sight of the old enemy, that bug… it had been in that house back when Donna was still his companion. They'd found that child, and River had been there… they'd killed all those Silents… and Donna… oh Donna! How he missed her sarcastic remarks, witty comebacks, and slaps upside the head when he lost it. Tears began to fill his eyes and he quickly scrubbed at his face to hide them. He needed to focus on the here and the now, Rory was hurt, Amy was frantic, and there were dangerous metal bugs roaming the city of Paris… he needed to resolve this, now.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I apologize about the shortness of this chapter, but my life is super crazy at the moment! I'm attempting to update as fast as I can, and I promise, I promise I will update as soon as possible! Thank-you for being such awesome, patient readers and don't forget to leave a review!


	11. Vortex Manipulators

10

"Give him a few minutes, Pond, Rory will be fine, he's just had a small electric shock." The Doctor took a very frantic Amy's shoulders and squeezed them gently. "Now deep breaths, in, out, in, out, there you go."

There came a groan from the nurse, "Small electric shock, my eye!"

"Rory!" Amy bent over and pressed a frantic kiss to her fiancé's mouth.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, forcing back a small laugh, "Well what would you like me to tell her? That it was potentially fatal and you could die any minute?"

Amy smacked him in the side, eliciting an 'ow'. She then helped Rory sit up and they leaned against the base of the tower. Now that Rory wasn't in any immediate danger, the Doctor's thoughts turned to the spider. What was it doing here? There had to be more…what in the world had drawn the spider to Paris? He didn't even know what their true purpose was. But, as he thought about it, his heart leaped in his chest. _Brooke_. Of course, it was impossible for him to meet her here, in all likelihood she wasn't even born yet. But, he couldn't help but think that the spiders just had to have something in common with her. After all, he'd found her in a house full of them!

He was shaken out of his thoughts by Amy taking his arm, "Doctor, what was that?"

The Doctor turned to Amy, making up a name on the spot so as not to alarm her by the fact that he really had no idea what they were dealing with. "Arachnid Ferus. Dangerous little buggers eh?"

"Are there more?" Rory asked.

"Could be, maybe, I don't know!" He hopped up from where they were sitting and whipped out his sonic. "I guess we'll just have to find out."

Amy gave a cry of frustration and pulled Rory up, ignoring his pained protests, "I'm _never _going to have a normal date with Rory…_ever_. At this rate even my _wedding_ is going to get messed up, hell… even the _baby_ will!"

The Doctor laughed, "Oh, it's not that bad, Pond! Didn't your mother teach you not to count your chickens before they've hatched?" He pointed his sonic down the street and began walking. He needed to find out where these spiders were coming from. These things always had a leader, and he needed to find out who that was too. What was their purpose? Besides destroying humans….honestly, if they had wanted to take over the world they would've tried to by now! Unless there was only jus the one, but from his observations from that house…they probably traveled in numbers. Large numbers.

He was vaguely aware of Amy and Rory following him down the street. His sonic was picking up something, something big. There was a whole lot of time energy coming from a place down this street. He only needed to find out what.

The Doctor ran forward as his sonic began whirring louder and louder. Amy and Rory kept up with him. He turned in a circle, completely ignoring the looks of passersby. "Ah! Close! Where are you?" He hit his forehead several times in quick succession, "Think, Doctor, think! Where is it?"

"What are we looking for?" Amy said, looking around her for anything that might help the Doctor seem just a little less mad. He was attracting attention.

"Anything…anything related to time-travel or something that shouldn't be here. A-a rubber ducky, a dalek, a cyberman head…a blender!"

Rory picked up a metal bracelet with a circular light in it. "This?"

The Doctor whirled, a smile growing on his face, "Ah, yeah, that works too!"

Amy's brow furrowed as the Doctor sonicked it,"That looks like the vortex manipulator River had back at the Byzantium."

The Doctor's tongue poked out of his mouth as he held the band up to the light. It was definitely from the right time-period to be River's, "Might be the same one. But-why would she just leave it lying around?" Granted, a lot of people from that century had the ability to time-travel. But this vortex manipulator was worn, seasoned, it had seen many miles, and hopefully it would see many more. If it was River's, she wouldn't just leave it here, would she?

That was an excellent question. River was careful, she was precise, and she was secretive. She understood the laws of time and space, she understood that she needed to protect the past from the future. Heck, that's what she did for the Doctor. She wouldn't leave a vortex manipulator lying about in Paris when it didn't belong. She just _wouldn't_. Not unless something had happened. The Doctor frantically turned the band around, looking for anything, anything that would help him figure this out. The scratching on it was mostly old, but there were some relatively new-looking dings and the band was dusty. He kept turning it, looking for any more possible clues to the identity of the owner or what had happened to them.

That was when he saw it, the lock on the band was ripped apart. It had been torn off the wearer's wrist.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Again, apologies for the short chapter but life is just not cooperating, and I'm working on writing another RiverxDoctor oneshot that absolutely MUST be up by Sunday, because it's their anniversary. Ah, the life of a writer. In my defense this was edited at 11:30 at night after working through six math lessons and about as many cups of tea. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews would be most welcome, even if I did only give you a measly little chapter. :P


	12. Jacque and Pails

11

The Doctor frantically shoved the vortex manipulator in his pocket and looked around. He wasn't sure if this was River's, but even if it wasn't, he still needed to find the wearer. They were in obvious danger. The problem was that he hadn't a clue where to start! Clue, clue…look for clues. What clues?

He then, out of the corner of his eye, noticed a shopkeeper who was staring at them rather oddly. He ran up to him and practically shoved the article in his face. "Hi, what's your name?"

"Jacque." The rather befuddled man answered.

"Ah, Jacque, lovely name, I like the name, Jacque! Hello Jacque, I'm the Doctor." With that seemingly over, he then moved on to more important matters. "Did you happen to see what happened to the owner of this?" The Doctor asked, pointing to the vortex manipulator.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment, "Eh…yeah, but I can't quite seem to remember what exactly happened." He scratched his head, "Odd."

Amy walked up, leaning forward on the table so that the man had to lean back quite a bit. She could sense the Doctor's urgency. "Yeah, well, we need you to try."

The shopkeeper blinked at the young lady's rather improper conduct and dress and then scratched his head again, looking back at the Doctor's intense and rather mad-looking stare. "I-well. There was this young lady here…curly blonde hair, really curly, y'know. Lovely hair." He paused and then seemed to collect his thoughts. "She was wearing that. And one minute she was there and then" He flailed his arms out, "Poof, there she goes. Not a sound."

"Just like that?" Amy asked, mimicking his earlier 'poof' gesture.

The man nodded adamantly.

The Doctor scratched his cheek and then straightened, "Well. Yeah. Thanks."

As they walked away, Amy muttered, "Fat lot of good that was."

"Seriously Amy, so Scottish!" The Doctor chastened, "At least now we know that this," He said, holding up the vortex manipulator, "Is River's." He didn't mention what else he knew…or rather…theorized. If the shopkeeper couldn't remember the event perfectly, were the Silence involved?

"So, what are we going to do now?" Amy said, crossing her arms across her chest and looking pointedly at the Doctor, "Go galloping off to find some time-travelin' alien?"

Rory put a hand to his forehead, "Can we please just go home?"

The Doctor grinned, "Now where would be fun in that?" He clapped Rory on the shoulder and then turned to Amy his eyes growing serious. "Amy, River is in trouble, _Paris_ is in trouble…whatever could get a vortex manipulator off of River Song's wrist is…is _dangerous._"

Amy nodded with a snort, "Give you that. So what do we do?"

"Find her." The Doctor said softly.

"How?"

The Doctor grinned manically and then held up his fingers. "Well, what do we know? This creature is intelligent, very intelligent, and very, very strong to be able to attack River. Either that or it travels in large numbers." He tried not to let his mind travel to the Arachnid Ferus. "River's disappeared, and it most likely didn't cause too much of a disturbance. This place would probably be very crowded _or_ very deserted and swarming with police if it did." He paused.

Rory gestured for him to continue, "So…does it hunt, capture, kill on sight? What?"

The Doctor's hearts leapt up into his throat as he thought of the possibilities. No, best not think of those right now. He turned to Rory, "Very good question Rory. One which I don't know…I really don't." His face fell, and he began to look the most worried he had since he'd found them in front of the Eiffel Tower with that spider.

The Doctor sighed, he really, really needed to fix this. He didn't know how, exactly, but somehow he felt like the spiders' presence here in Paris was his fault. It was most certainly his fault for bringing Amy and Rory here, anyway. He was torn between fixing this, which was his tendency, or to get Rory and Amy out as fast as possible. But, he- he needed to help this. He could leave the people of Paris to defend against an enemy they knew nothing about.

"Right, Amy, Rory…let's go find out what or who took River, hm?" Then, without waiting for an answer, the Doctor walked down the streets of Paris, shoes slapping on the cobblestone.

So, what kind of alien could do this? It didn't seem like something the spiders would do…he didn't know enough about the Silence to make any judgment on that. His mind wandered back to that house, he wondered what had ever happened to Brooke. River said she'd dropped the girl off with somebody that they both knew, and it was bugging him not knowing who that was. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he'd become attached to her, and so he felt…protective. Yes, definitely very…protective-ish.

He became vaguely aware of the banter of the couple behind him, and grinned. Good old Rory and Amy, never quite letting the danger of any harrowing situation get to them. Humans were fantastic like that. He whirled and injected himself into the conversation.

"So, Pond. Have you still got that raggedy Doctor doll?" He asked nonchalantly. It was an odd question, but he needed a distraction.

Amy covered her face in her hands, "You have to bring that up?"

Rory laughed and then turned to her, "Wait, you still do, don't you?"

Amy whacked him, "What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I don't still have it." Though the look on her face amused the men, because it suggested quite the opposite.

The Doctor chuckled, straightening his bowtie, "Well I can't blame you for not wanting to part with it."

Amy rolled her eyes, wanting to punch that ridiculously smug look on his face. "Oh, shut up."

The Doctor shook his head and turned, laughing. They say pride goes before a fall, the Doctor didn't think it was supposed to be meant literally. Just as he turned, he tripped over a stray dog that came out from an alley way. Said dog ripped his trousers (they would be his best ones), and just when he thought it couldn't get more embarrassing, his foot stuck in a pail. The pail, being metal, clamped around the appendage and the Doctor took a flying trip into some Parisian rose bushes.

There came raucous laughter as his humans ran over to help him up. "Superior Time Lord sense of balance, Doctor?" Amy teased, biting her lip and nearly turning red.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, standing up from the rosebushes and flipping his hair and straightening his rumpled, scratched jacket with an indignant huff. "Quiet, Pond."

"Need some help with that?" Rory asked, gesturing toward the pail that was still clamped around the Doctor's leg.

The Doctor looked down and looked back up, scratching his cheek. Oh, this was terribly embarrassing. He stomped a few times, causing quite a loud clatter. He then looked around, "Eh…do you mind?"

Both Rory and Amy grabbed onto the rim of the bucket, ignoring the looks from the passersby as the Doctor grabbed onto a lamppost and they pulled.

"Okay, ready? One…two…_three_."

The pail came off with a resounding crack, and the Doctor cried out as the metal left a gash in his leg. Amy and Rory tumbled back into the alleyway with a collective surprised yell and much giggling.

The Doctor winced and limped over to the alleyway, crossing his arms like a spoiled child and pouting about his humiliation, waiting for his friends to come out. "Rory, Amy, come on…it wasn't that funny!" There came no answer for a long time, probably about five minutes. The Doctor was beginning to get quite worried.

A scream ripped through the street, and the he broke into a run, bursting into the alleyway and running straight into Rory. The Doctor looked around frantically.

"Doctor…?" Rory whimpered confusedly.

The Doctor took Rory by the shoulders, "Rory, where's Amy?"

"I-she's gone…"

"What? What happened?"

"I- can't…Doctor…" Rory's eyes widened, and he began to panic.

"Rory." The Doctor's voice became very low and he shook his distraught friend. "What. Happened."

The next few words that Rory said struck terror into the Doctor's heart.

"I can't…I don't remember."

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Dun. Dun. Dun. Duuunnnnnnnn! *evil laugh* *glances at review count* Oh my goodness! 30 reviews! Guys, this is the most reviews I've EVER gotten on a story! Thanks so, so much for being the awesome readers you are. You make my writing process so much more enjoyable. Congratulations to MarkMark261 for being the 30th! Unfortunately I don't have anything to give you besides this chapter and cyber cookies… *looks around awkwardly*. So yeah. I hoped you all liked it and reviews are candy.

Looking forward to seeing you next time!


	13. Alien Bases

12

The Doctor took Rory by the shoulders, the young man was in shock. Whatever happened, even though he couldn't remember… it had shaken him to the core? His eyes were wide and he was struggling to breathe.

"Rory," The Doctor said firmly, "We'll find Amy, we'll find her, I promise." He was not letting another person get killed on account of him. The Doctor had been through that far too many times.

He ran his hand through his hair. It just seemed he'd never learn, would he? What, was Rose, not enough to tell him that he wasn't worth the pain he caused other people? What about Sara Jane, hm? Or Donna? God, Donna… the guilt from her was so fresh. He was just a lonely old man, a very dangerous lonely old man… so old. So old, and so very tired. The Doctor wasn't sure he could do this anymore, Amy didn't deserve this. Neither did Rory, and damn it he swore he wasn't going to let them pay the price for his selfishness.

The trouble was, he hadn't the faintest clue where to look. Paris was a big city. It was a big Universe. He was sure the Silence had taken her, that much was clear, but he had no idea what to do with the Silence. He'd only ever encountered them once before, and that was for a grand total of twenty minutes. He was completely and totally inadequate to save his companion.

But, he reminded himself, he was clever. He was so, so very clever, perhaps the cleverest man in the Universe. He would come out on top and bring Amy and Rory out of this safely if it killed him. Now, where should he begin? What did one do when they were attempting to track down the Silence?

He turned to Rory, shaking the young man again in an attempt to make him help him think. "Rory. Amy was taken by the Silence. They're creatures that are very, very dangerous, and memory proof."

"What?" Rory blinked back tears, giving the Doctor a distinct 'dear in the headlights' look.

The Doctor sighed, "The minute you look away from them you won't remember they're there. Now, the question is, how do you find something like that? You don't. They find you… _oh_, oh!" He jumped up and down slightly, a smile growing on his face. "Clever, there, you see? I'm clever! C'mon, Rory! We're going to go get captured!"

Honestly, it sounded like the most _un_-clever plan that Rory had ever heard. And it seemed to become an even worse idea as the day wore on. They were wandering around the streets of Paris, while Amy was slipping further and further away from him.

That had only been half of the Doctor's plan, however. What looked like wandering through the streets to Rory, was really information gathering and tracking for the Doctor. He had used his sonic screwdriver to pick up on the residual energy of the Silence, and he kept waving the instrument around, the distinct whir filling his ears as he drew closer and closer to wherever the Silence had taken Amy. Of course, Rory hadn't picked up on this plan. At all. So finally, he stopped in his tracks and simply stared at the Doctor's retreating back.

It took the Doctor a few seconds, but then he realized Rory wasn't with him. He turned in surprise, "Rory? Come on, we don't have time to just stand around!"

Rory rolled his eyes, "We don't have time to wander around, either!"

"Wander around. ... Who said that's what we were doing?" The Doctor exclaimed incredulously.

"What would you call this then, hmm?" Rory gestured around them widely.

"Looking for Amy! I'll have you know I am very clever, Rory, and so I've set up my sonic to lock onto the trace energy from the Silence. The Silence aren't here for Amy, they're here for me. They've no reason to take Amy. Therefore, I can only assume that they'll take her to their top-secret headquarters, wherever that is, and therefore, I'm going to follow this," He held up his screwdriver, "Right to Amy."

Rory shrugged exasperatedly, "Then why are we wandering around Paris? Wouldn't we be, I don't know, _headed_ in the definite direction of my fiancée?"

The Doctor shook his head and gave Rory a look. "What does she see in you?" He breathed. Rory's mouth fell open to make a comeback, but the Doctor raised his hands in defense. "_Anyway_. I'm waiting for the screwdriver to zero in on the source, it needs to pick up quite a few traces and then it calculates where they all originate from- and – Ah! I've got her Rory!" The Doctor sped down the streets of Paris in his tweed jacket and bowtie, whispering to nobody in particular. "I'm coming, Amy." He needed to be sure she was okay. He'd never forgive himself. She always waited for him, always. Amy had faith with him. She believed he would come back, she waited for so long just to travel with him, and he was going to make sure she didn't die because of her blind faith.

Rory sped after him, his heart pounding in chest. This was a far cry from the easy wandering they'd been doing all around town for the day. He needed to make sure that Amy was alive. He'd spent his entire life waiting for her to realize that he loved her, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let her die in Paris before she was even born. Rory didn't trust the Doctor, not fully. He got the message that the Doctor really only felt that Rory was an unpleasant intrusion to the unbridled friendship and devotion Amy had paid to him, and, bless his heart, the Doctor was trying to get over it. But Rory sometimes got the feeling that to the Doctor, he was just another human to look after. Amy, Amy however was a friend, and Rory was still trying to figure out if he was okay with that or not.

Finally, the street broke out into a wide lawn, and Rory stared up at…the Eiffel Tower?

"That's…that's brilliant!" The Doctor shouted.

Rory blinked, where was the space-ship, the top-secret base? "Doctor, how does this…what?"  
>The Doctor began to jump up and down, waving his screwdriver and shouting in glee, "The Eiffel Tower is a base for aliens!"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: *Gasp* Weird, I know right? How does that even work? Let me tell you… spoilers. *grins evily* There'll probably one more chapter before all of the pieces to this part of the story start fitting together. Looking forward to it? I am! Hope you enjoyed, and please take the time to leave a review.


	14. The Metal Eye Patch

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Doctor Who, but I'm working on that! ;) Currently negotiating with Moffat for a writing job. (I wish)

**A/N: **First of all, I do apologize profusely for the absurdly long wait! But I promise you, I did my best to make the wait worth it, beings how this update is nearly twice as long as they normally are! I want to thank my invaluable best friend, Kim, for helping me on this…because without her this chapter never would've gotten written! So enjoy! And please don't forget to review!

* * *

><p>13<p>

Rory stood dumbstruck, gawking up at the Eiffel Tower for a few moments as he let the Doctor's ravings sink in. The…Eiffel Tower…was a base for aliens. He didn't think that even if he had all the time in the world and his fiancé wasn't currently captured in said base that he'd have enough to digest that information, so he simply let it blow over his head and then asked,

"So, what's the plan?"

The Doctor grinned, pulling out his sonic screwdriver from his coat-pocket, "Good, old-fashioned Sonic and Enter!"

Rory blinked, "What are we…sonicking…exactly?" was that even a word, sonicking? "I mean, we don't exactly have a door we can just walk up to and ring the bloody doorbell and say 'hey, is this the alien base holding my fiancé?'"

"Right!" The Doctor walked towards the tower, then spun to face Rory, jabbing a forefinger at the other man's chest. "_Find _the door, _then_ sonic!" He punctuated the last remark by turning on his screwdriver, pointing it up in the air, and spinning gleefully in a circle like a spastic five-year-old.

Eyebrows knitting together in a disconcerted, but half-resigned look, the kind of look that he often gave Amy when she said something odd, Rory threw his hands up in the air, "You don't- you don't really have a plan, do you?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, shaking his head at Rory. He was so different from Pond, honestly…it was pitiful sometimes. His sonic was still up in the air, whirring, as if he'd forgotten all about it. "Trust me, I'm the Doctor, I always have a-"

_click_.

Rory frowned, "Was that the…?" he pointed to the sonic.

"Rory, no…it's a _sonic screwdriver_ it doesn't click. It _vhrrrrrrrrrrs_!" He exclaimed.

"Then what clicked?"

Suddenly the ground beneath them opened up and swallowed them whole. Rory's heart was caught in his throat as the bottom of the shaft rose up to meet them, faster and faster. They landed with a hard thump, a few rolls, and a collection of pained yelps. Rory lay on his back, groaning slightly.

Sitting up rapidly, hands flailing about, the Doctor looked about, squinting at the dimly-lit web of tunnels that stretched out in front of them. "Rory," He said softly, "I think I found the door."

Rory slowly got into an upright position, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I thought the plan was find the door and _then_ sonic."

"Rule one." The Doctor said, grinning, and clapping Rory lightly on the shoulder before starting down the tunnels.

Rory looked absolutely befuddled, staring out into the blackness at the Doctor's receding form before muttering, "What's rule one?"

He stood in place for a few more seconds, then realized that he could no longer see the Doctor. He decided he'd better follow before something weird happened to him… well, something _weirder_. Rory ran forward in the direction the Doctor had headed.

"Doctor," He asked as he caught up with him, "I'm probably going to regret asking this, but… what's the plan _now_?"

The Doctor turned around and stared at him like he was a total idiot. "Find Amy, of course! Why else would we be breaking into the Eiffel Tower?" He paused, "Well…actually, a gigantic web of tunnels _underneath _the Eiffel Tower that are more than likely inhabited by malevolent, memory-proof aliens."

"Ah. Of course." Rory threw up his hands, not willing to ask exactly _how_ they were planning on finding Amy.

They continued on down the dark corridor. It seemed to Rory to be sloping slightly downward, which did not help his already tense nerves. To make matters worse the light seemed to be getting dimmer and dimmer as they went, and-

"Wait… Doctor, where is the light coming from?"

The Doctor scanned the walls, noticing, as Rory already had, that there was no discernible light source anywhere.

"Hm."

Rory waited for him to continue and explain away this rather disconcerting observation, but the Doctor did not elaborate. Before Rory could ask what that had meant, a low, vibrating drone echoed through the corridor. Both men froze.

"Rory." The Doctor's whisper was barely audible in the deafening silence that seemed to follow.

"Yes?"

"I thought of something else we're going to do while we're down here."

Rory tensed, waiting for whatever other important mission the Doctor was about to tell him about. "What?"

"We are going to stay away from whatever made _that_ noise." The Doctor said, pointing down the passageway in direction it had come from.

"Uh…" Rory didn't even know what to say to that. That kind of seemed like a given to him. "Yeah, okay, good plan."

Just as Rory was convincing his immobile legs to get moving, another sound reached his ears.

Metal. Lots of grinding, scraping, creaking metal was moving towards them at what sounded like an alarming pace.

"Doctor?" He started uncertainly, moving slightly away from the noise.

The Doctor's voice was deadly serious. "Rory, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer it truthfully."

"Um, okay."

"How do you feel about dying by a bunch of metal spiders?"

"Uh, not so good."

"Good. Then you should run."

Rory turned around, glancing back at the tunnel and immediately regretting it. The walls, the floor, and the entire back of the corridor was teeming with Arachnid Ferus, like liquid metal, hissing and clattering and chattering and scraping. All bent on their destruction.

"Uh, uh, uh…" Rory stammered, unable to find words to express his intense terror at the rolling wave of looming death coming towards him. Without comment, the Doctor grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked it hard, forcing his companion to follow.

"I told you to run!" The Doctor yelled at him as they ran, feet pounding on the dirt floors of the corridor.

Rory stumbled on an unseen rock in his path, hitting the ground hard and tumbling head over heels into the wall. Without a moment's hesitation, he shoved his hands against the wall and shot back to his feet.

"I know!" He shouted back at the Doctor. "But you didn't say don't look back!"

"Well, I didn't think I needed to!"

The scraping metal was getting closer. It took all the willpower Rory had to not turn around and look over his shoulder to get one more look at what was chasing him. He tried to keep his mind on each running leap he took. Anything but focusing on the Arachnid Ferus.

The Doctor spotted a side-passage they could duck into. He grabbed Rory again by the collar, turning for a moment to wave his screwdriver at the spiders to deter them for a few moments. That was all he needed to pull Rory into the small hollow on their left. They flattened themselves as tightly as they could into the dark recesses of the tiny niche, breathing hard.

The mass of metal bugs stampeded on past them, and the Doctor clapped a hand over Rory's mouth as his companion's eyes widened and he let out a squeak at the sheer numbers of them. It seemed like ages until they were all past. The Doctor poked his head out tentatively, glancing around at the now quiet tunnel. Rory heard him gasp and then he barreled back to hide against Rory, fingering his sonic that he held tightly to his side. "There's a few more…I think they saw me. Very not good."

Rory fought to steady his breathing as a pair of metallic legs creaked up to them, slowly inching closer. The Doctor's breaths were coming short next to him, and they glanced at each other as two spiders stopped at the edge of their hiding place. Had they seen them?

One spider clacked its mandibles slightly before venturing in, and both men tensed. It took several paces forward, poking its head out like a bloodhound. It seemed to sniff the air as it peered right at the curtain of darkness that just barely covered them. Rory bit his lip nervously, fingers balling into fists in his pockets as the Doctor prepared to raise his screwdriver to neutralize the bug.

But then, it turned, having not seen them, and scurried off to catch up with the rest of the group. Rory and the Doctor both let out the breaths they'd been holding.

"I hate those things." Rory whispered.

The Doctor only nodded in agreement as they walked along the pock-marked walls, stepping over roots and rocks. The downward slope was getting more noticeable as they continued and it was getting darker and darker as they went. The light slowly faded until it was gone altogether.

"What do we do now?"

The tunnel suddenly filled with blue light and a whirring noise. "We find Amy, is it that hard to remember?" The Doctor teased, seeming to work on a nonexistent door in their seemingly dead-end. "The Silence are advanced aliens, I do believe that these tunnels are only the tip of the ice-berg, hiding the real base…which is where Amy is."

"Why would the Silence have a base underneath the Eiffel Tower, anyway?" Rory asked, blinking.

The Doctor shrugged, continued to work on the wall-door. "I don't know." His screwdriver turned off and he grinned back at Rory, though Rory couldn't see his expression. "I suppose we'll find out, hm?" He strained against the wall, and Rory heard a grinding noise as it began to shift. He leapt forward to help. The Doctor continued, "I figure that there'll be some sort of central command unit…a big, ginormous base of lots and lots of computers…we find that, and it's bound to have information on where they're keeping Amy!"

The door gave way, and Rory and the Doctor were blinded by a burst of white light. When their eyes adjusted, they looked around, eyes widening and mouths dropping to the floor. The place was humming with all sorts of activity. The room was filled with the defeaning pulse of the buttons of keyboards, the beeping of computers, and the pounding of feet. The murmur of a thousand voices rose to the vaulted, white ceiling. Blue and green schematics were guided and pointed and pulled through the air before their eyes as they stared out over the expanse.

The whole control room was a hive of bees, a nest of ants, each little black ant scurrying around to complete its task in the most efficient way possible. Other ants were barking commands and using handheld computers to monitor the task-force. Each and every one of these commander-ants wore a silver eye-patch over one eye. How were they going to find Amy in all of this?

"Doctor? I think we found the control room." Rory managed.

"Right. You go left, I'll go right." The Doctor said, immediately then breaking off in the exact opposite direction he'd just said.

Rory blinked, "What am I looking for, exactly?"

"Building schematics, prisoner codes, a map!" Came the hurried reply. The Doctor licked the wall and then sonicked it. A small compartment opened up, and the Doctor tossed Rory an eye-patch and uniform. "Try to act important." He said with a grin.

"Right." Rory quickly crawled into the uniform. "What's the point of these, exactly?" He asked, holding up the eye-patch.

"Dunno, mind-control?"

"And we're putting them on?" He exclaimed.

"Putting on yes, turning on, no." The Doctor snatched the eye-patched out of Rory's hand and sonicked it for safety, short-circuiting the device. He then pressed it over Rory's left eye and gave the young man a pat on the back. "Let's go find Pond, shall we?"

The Doctor walked down the room, heading left. He discretely kicked an Arachnid Ferus out of his way. What was the point of those things, anyway? He walked over to a computer that was manned by some sort of technician and patted him on the back, smiling brightly and flashing his psychic paper. The technician immediately got up from his seat and backed off, allowing the Doctor access to the computer. "Alright…prisoner records…where are you Amy?"

He pulled up the map of the place, pushing the picture on the screen to his left until he found the holding cells. Little red life-signs indicated which ones were filled. He typed in a search for Amelia Pond, and one cell flashed red. He grinned, "Found you."

Something else caught his eye, a separate group of cells on the schematics that were marked white. He quickly touched the one that was filled with a small life-sign, and frowned.

_Access Denied. Information on prisoner 73 classified. _

He peered closer at the screen, what would the Silence want to hide from their operatives? What were they holding in that cell?

As his eyes focused on the screen, they widened, because reflected in the material of the screen, was the face of a Silence.


	15. TimeyWimey

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Who, if I did, River wouldn't be stuck in a computer...she'd be out with the Doctor shooting his hats and helping him save the world.

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling)** FINALLY! An update! I know the waits between updates for this fic are stupidly long, but I do try to make up for it a little either in length, humor, or at least quality. Hopefully the wait was worth it this time, I do think you guys will enjoy this chapter. If so, (or if not) let me know! Please review when you're done, I'd love to know what you think, it makes my day. :)

* * *

><p><strong>14<strong>

The Doctor breezed past Rory with a map, grabbing him by the shirt collar. "C'mon, I've found Amy."

"You have? Where?" Rory asked as the Doctor dragged him down the hall.

"Two halls down, a right, a left, and another right…block 72." He said with a smile. Something was worrying him, though. Something wasn't right. Why was this so easy? Normally they would've been attacked by now, found out, thrown into a cell and interrogated. But for some odd reason, nobody seemed to question the man with the floppy hair and the bowtie and tweed jacket, or his companion for that matter. It was beginning to really get on his nerves. He hated unpunctual alien attacks!

They twisted through the winding maze of corridors, running under the bright white lights, hoping that nobody would pay them any attention just yet. Thankfully, nobody did. They stopped in front of block 72, and Rory swallowed hard.

"Will she be okay?"

The Doctor looked at him, a hint of guilt and sadness hiding behind his carefree smile. "Of course she is, Amelia Pond...the girl who waited...she's always okay."

He tried the door, of course it was locked, and quickly sonicked it. He opened it and went inside, steeling himself for whatever he may see. The room was empty, completely bare save for a few cupboards, a computer, and a chair with all sorts of odds and ends and doohickies and gadgets attached to it. Amy was strapped in to it, eyes closed, looking for all the world very tired and pale. Rory rushed forward, his hand threading into his fiancé's hair gently, the other reaching down to fumble with one of the straps that were confining her.

"Amy? Amy, please tell me you're okay!"

Amy's eyes slowly fluttered open and she frowned up at him blearily. The Doctor was already sonicking the straps around her feet to get them off. Her voice was weak and confused, "Rory?"

"Yeah, hey…right here." He said, smiling at her. The whirr of the sonic screwdriver filled their ears and Amy's head popped up, eyes wide. "Doctor? Doctor!"

He stopped and came over, "Amy! Yes. Me. Now we need to get you out of here…"

She reached up and grabbed him by his bowtie. "…it is you…"

The Doctor blinked, "Yes, it's me. Why wouldn't it be?"

"They told me that they had you…in…and…"

"Well obviously I'm fine." He gently disentangled her fingers from his bowtie, "So if you're quite done being captured and tied up and what not…we need to go."

Just as he said this, an alarm began to blare, red lights flashing through the hall. Heavy feet could be heard running toward them at an alarming rate, paired with shouting voices. Rory's eyes were wide as he pulled Amy to her feet.

"Can you run?" He shouted above the din.

"I...yeah!" Amy replied back.

The Doctor was already on his way out the door, he popped his head out, frowning at what he saw. People, not nice people, people with eyepatches and guns and frowns running straight for them. Not good at all! The ground was also beginning to fill with spiders as they poured from the cooling vents. He ducked quickly as a blast erupted in his direction, then ran back inside the room to avoid two more shots from the eye-patch people's guns.

"Run! Now!" He exclaimed, half gleeful and half absolutely terrified. He didn't know the way out. He had no plan. The Ponds didn't need to know that yet.

Rory blinked, "Run where?"

The Doctor dragged them out and pointed at the crowd that was fast catching up at them, "Ah! Away from them!"

"Right! Good plan!" Rory deadpanned, nodding. He pulled Amy after him and bounded down the tunnel at top speed. The Doctor followed hot on their heels, whirling in mad circles as he attempted to fend off the Spiders that were popping out of every vent with his screwdriver. Their breaths were coming short and fast as they attempted to stay one step ahead of their pursuers. Rory and Amy took a sharp left down another tunnel, and the Doctor followed, pausing to sonic one of the alarm system boxes. It short-circuited with a crackle and a shower of sparks and he smiled. "Much better."

They ran on in silence, with only the sound of the spider's furious metal legs scuttling behind them and the shouts of the servants of the Silence ricocheting off the passages.

The noises slowly faded as they ran farther down the pure-white hall. As the Doctor whizzed after his companions, something caught his eye. The number 76. He backtracked a few steps and stared at a grey door. He glanced first to the left, and then to the right. Anything could be behind that door! What if...what if River was there? What could the Silence possibly be hiding that was so top secret that they had it classified under the highest security?

It was too fascinating to resist.

He stepped forward and tried the door handle. It wasn't locked, but for some odd reason it wasn't turning, kind of like someone from the inside was trying to turn it the opposite direction. He frowned and whipped out his sonic, quickly finding the correct frequency and attempted to loosen the door handle. It might be jammed, after all.

"Doctor! What are you doing? We have to go!" Amy's voice came from around the corner as she ran back to find him, Rory close behind.

The Doctor chuckled, "Just...one moment, Pond..."

The footsteps and grinding sounds of metal could be heard again. They were coming back.

Amy put a hand to her forehead and then said through gritted teeth, "We have to go!"

The Doctor rattled the door-handle in frustration, "Not yet!"

He kept rattling it more and more frantically as the sounds got nearer. Then, a curious thing happened... the door handle fell completely off, leaving a gaping hole where it should have been.

Eleven blinked, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he experimentally leaned down and peered through the hole.

One very familiar brown eye stared back at him, looking in surprise through a pair of brainy-spectacles.

This... this couldn't be! He frowned again, watching as the eye did the same. The Doctor's finger moved of its own accord, and he reached in and poked the glass lense.

The other man blinked and then exclaimed, "Oi! You can't just go jabbing at a bloke's specs!"

Eleven gaped. That was a very, very, painfully well-known voice. That scottish brogue, that terribly spastic and excited way of speaking...

He was suddenly hit in the face with the door. Pain shot up through his head, settling into his sinuses to create a throbbing headache that would probably be there for a long time. He groaned. "Do you mind?"

"Ah, sorry..." came the voice again. The Doctor looked up to stare straight at...well... himself. Tenth regeneration to be specific, in all his suit and tie and ridiculous trench coat and red converse-d glory. His hair was gelled and he looked around the hall in puzzlement, nose crinkling as he stared through his glasses. "Have you seen a medium-sized ginger running about, cheeky, sarcastic, rather brilliant?" His eyes scanned the hallway, seeming completely unaware of the sound of pounding feet and metal that was rapidly approaching. When his eyes rested on Amy, he grinned brightly and leapt forward, "Ooh! You're ginger, though not the right one. Hello, I'm the Doctor." Ten stuck out his hand for Amy to take.

Eleven stepped forward and broke off their handshake. "That would be MY ginger."

"Well, pardon me, but I think she's fantastic."

"Yeah well that's nice. We need to run." Rory said, taking Amy's hand and pulling her down from the passageway. The Spiders were getting closer, the footsteps coming after them.

"There! They're over here!" One of the eyepatch-people had spotted them. She reached over and pulled the alarm, setting the place into the throes of chaos once again.

Ten rolled his eyes, "Rubbish. Let's run!" He skittered down the hallway, fully expecting the rest of them to follow. Eleven growled a little under his breath and did, quickly catching up with himself as Rory and Amy followed close behind.

They turned several hallways, and suddenly the Tenth Doctor skidded to a halt and opened a cupboard, quickly tossing a few things out of it and pulling Rory and Amy and his future Self inside.

"Brilliant how there's always a cupboard handy in these bases!" He exclaimed, tossing his screwdriver playfully.

Amy doubled over, putting her hands on her knees, breathing hard. She looked over at Ten, frowning at him, "Wait...how can you be the Doctor? He's the Doctor." She said, confused and nodding her head towards Eleven, who was by now gleefully sonicking the cupboard they were in, looking for another way out that didn't involve going past the spiders and servants of the Silence.

"He's the Doctor?" Ten scrunched up his nose and peered through his glasses over at Eleven. "Really? Well I'm certainly not looking forward to that regeneration."

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?" Amy exclaimed, crossing her arms.

Ten raised an eyebrow, "I'm all... gangly and...and boyish...and...and bowties, really? Does my sense of fashion deteriorate that much?"

Eleven spun around, pointing at him with his sonic indignantly, "Bowties are cool." He went back to sonicking the room, beginning to babble, "Yes, I remember now...I've been here before, Paris. Though I didn't know it was under the Eiffel Tower. Donna wandered off. She'd gotten captured."

"Yeah, well she has a way of doing that." Ten chuckled.

Eleven walked over to him and blinked, "But I don't remember meeting myself...which means..."

Ten grinned brightly, "Time's being rewritten."

"Yes and it's a very odd feeling... because I'm beginning to remember it two ways now." His frown deepened and he shook his head and went back to work looking for a way out that wasn't currently being bombarded with metal spiders.

Rory blinked, looking in between Eleven and Ten, "How can you be the Doctor? Like Amy said.. he's the Doctor. He's got a sonic screwdriver..."

"So have I!" Ten held up his, the silver shaft gleaming in the dim light. He turned it on, the blue light at the top glowing. Rory blinked, well it certainly made the same sound...

Amy shook her head, "That looks nothing like the Doctor's screwdriver."

"They change, Pond, they change. Every one of me has a different one." Eleven called from over at the wall where he was puzzling through what looked like a locked, wooden door.

"And I happen to think mine's better." Ten said, "Sleek...efficient, silvery, silvery's very good. Why on earth would I want one with pointy spikes and a green light? I don't even like the color green!"

Eleven rolled his eyes, scratching the back of his head, "Would you just...shut up! My sonic is actually being put to some use here, very clever use, I might add!"

"Oh really?" Ten pursed his lips and shot his hand into the air, exultantly pointing his screwdriver at the ceiling and making a point of turning it on. "Well now mine is too."

Eleven blinked, frowning in disdainful befuddlement. "How in the Universe is pointing it at the ceiling going to help anything?"

Ten deflated a little and gaped like a fish, "I-I...you never know...there could be an escape hatch...or something...up- up there!" He swallowed and nodded as if to affirm his own words, his screwdriver up and still whirring.

Everyone simply stared at him, crickets would've been heard if it wasn't for the whirring of the two screwdrivers and the sound of a million metal spiders trying to pry open the door on the far side of the tiny room.

Suddenly, another noise reverberated in their ears: a resounding click.

Rory grabbed onto Amy for dear life, Eleven simply put his head in his hands and murmured, "Oh dear..." He fully expected the floor to drop out from underneath them at any moment. Honestly, how many shafts did an alien base need?

Ten looked at his screwdriver in surprise. He pulled it down, staring at it for the longest time, his eyes wide, his nose scrunched up, his eyebrows knitted together.

"What?" his voice began to stutter as he tried to work out the massive puzzle of a sonic screwdriver that apparently clicked. "You're...you're not supposed to click! You... you Vrrrrrr! You never click! What would I do with a clicking screwdriver?" He pulled lightly at the roots of his artfully mussed hair and began pacing, his coattails streaming out behind him as he continued to stare at his sonic. "It..it just doesn't have the same sound to it! It just doesn't pop!" He paused when he realized that nobody in the room was looking at him. "Is anyone listening to me?"

They were all staring up at the ceiling, mouths open, eyes wide. He blinked, "What?"

Rory only pointed up.

He followed the man's gesture, his heart leaping up in his throat as he stared at the ceiling. It had now opened, and from the gaping hole, there poured forth roving, lurching, reeling masses of metal spiders, hissing murderously, clacking their mandibles. The ceiling was quickly becoming a scuttling sea of clattering metal.

"Oh...well..." His nose scrunched up as he stared through the black frames of his glasses, "That's different."


	16. Decisions

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling)** Here ya'll go! Another update! I'm getting on a regular schedule for posting my fics, for the summer, so this one will be posted every Tuesday/Friday, and Beneath the Script will be posted every Monday/Thursday. I hope you enjoy this update! Have fun reading it, and don't forget to leave me a review, reviews are candy. :)

15

**Decisions**

They all stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, unsure of what to do. It was Eleven who snapped into action first, "Right, I believe there's a door on this side, a hatch, a dumbwaiter…something! Ten!" He paused, "Ooh, that's weird, talking to myself," he chuckled a little bit, "You know in some places they might consider me schizophrenic-"

"Doctor!" Amy huffed.

"-Right! Ten! Sonic the Arachnid Ferus, it should slow them down enough to give me time to open this door."

Ten rolled his eyes, gesturing to his still-whirring sonic, "That's what I'm doing."

"No, you're using the wrong frequency-"

"-Then what's the correct frequency?"

"-find it! We've fought them before!" Eleven growled above the clacking of the spiders that were presently beginning to cover the walls and climb down. He sonicked one out of the way and turned back to his work.

Ten began switching frequencies quickly, giving out cries of frustration and smacking his forehead, "No I haven't!"

"What do you mean you haven't? We have! Remember? Brooke? Old house, 2027!"

"What are you talking about?" Ten whirled to face Eleven, frowning and looking at himself like he'd grown three heads.

Eleven growled again quite loudly and switched frequencies on the door, pausing once more to kick a spider away. It hissed madly and began scuttling toward him. "Ah!" He reached for something, anything, to break it with and grabbed a box off a nearby shelf, slamming it down on the spider. Breathing hard in relief, he turned to Ten, "Well that's just _brilliant_." He deadpanned, "Absolutely, and utterly brilliant. Of course the Universe gives me the _one_ me that has absolutely no idea what he's doing!"

"You used to be me! You're only insulting yourself!" Ten exclaimed, finally finding the right frequency and successfully delaying a few spiders.

"-no, I'm insulting a past self. A very idiotic, pig-headed, _brainless_ past self who only cared about snogging people off and then letting them get hurt, or killed, or just dropping them back to earth like they didn't mean anything at all!" Eleven hissed vehemently back, his eyes full of something very odd…self-hate?

Ten was about to reply when Amy interrupted him, "Oi! You're both each other, so can we please find some common ground so we can _get out of here_!"

Both of them did an identical gaping, half-surprised, half-annoyed expression, then, at the exact same time, turned back to their tasks. Ten switched frequencies on his screwdriver frantically, finally grinning and yelling, "Ha!" before pointing it at the hatch the spiders were coming from and closing the hatch-door. Then, he whacked his screwdriver a few times, switched back frequencies, and spun in mad circles trying to delay the spiders as Eleven worked on the door.

"AH! Got it! Let's go!" Eleven pushed open the door. It led into a musty corridor, the lights having long since blinked out of existence. With no time to lose, the group ran down it, Ten pausing to sonic the door shut behind them.

Rory flipped on a torch, the light flooding into the hallway and bouncing madly off the walls, mirroring the echo of their feet and voices as they scurried along, tripping over tree roots that had grown up through the floor and banging heads on the lights that dangled from above.

"Hold on just one minute!" Ten huffed as they ran, "I need to get Donna out of here! I won't leave her behind!"

"We won't!" Eleven called back, "But right now we have to get as far away from those bugs as quickly as possible, then we can go back and get her."

They kept going, the dank smell was clearing up, and Eleven knew they'd burst out into somewhere big and bright and important and filled with eye-patch people soon. That always happened. Suprisingly, as he rounded a corner, it wasn't a big, bright, important, eye-patch-people-filled room that he ran into. It was something soft, relatively his size, and most definitely female.

He felt the press of cold metal to his head, and a very, very familiar voice hissed, "There are hundreds of Silence in these halls, you want to live…don't make a sound."

"River?" He squeaked.

Rory's light found them, and River released him, looking at him in surprise, "Doctor?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing, what are you doing here?"

"Likewise," He replied, huffing and straightening his bowtie as she released him.

Ten walked up and looked at River in flabbergasted befuddlement, "River?"

River blinked, "Oi! Two of you? Is it my birthday already?" She shook her head and then turned to Eleven, "Where are you Sweetie? Have you done Byzantium yet?"

He nodded, "I assume you have too."

She nodded, "Actually that was a few weeks back for me. What about the Pandorica?"

He stared at her blankly in response.

River chuckled, "Obviously not," she then turned to Ten, "And you, you've met me, I assume."

Ten rolled his eyes, "Is this really important right now? My friend is probably currently being tortured and asked for my whereabouts."

"Ah! Well, we can't have that. Conveniently, mine is too, and they're in the same cell." Before anybody could ask exactly how she knew that, she grinned, "Okay, the holding cell is down that hall, three doors down, and to the left. Pretty Boy, with me." River unsheathed her guns and started down the hall, turning when she saw both of the Doctors staring at her in confusion.

Ten pointed gestured theatrically between himself and hisotherself, "Which one is…?"

River rolled her eyes like it was completely obvious, pointing first to the Tenth Doctor, then to the Eleventh, "You're pretty boy, He's Sweetie. Pretty boy with me." She jerked her thumb behind her and then continued on her way. "The Silence have had plans for a base here for a long time, the Eiffel Tower was so very cleverly made out of steel, makes it the perfect hide for those metal-spiders that they keep around-"

"-Arachnid Ferus-" Eleven interrupted.

"Of course, Sweetie." River said rather carelessly before picking up again where she left off, "What the Silence don't know, is that the Spiders are planning a revolution, a rebellion if you like, they want to be their own masters. They're planning on using the Eiffel Tower as a superconductor, they have a huge generator at the center, and when they get enough power, they're going to shoot off a beam of electrical energy into space-"

Amy cut in, "What for?"

River glanced back at her, saying simply, "To power their Queen."

Eleven, who had been quiet and rather distant the whole time, (except for his rather irritating interruption) thinking hard, suddenly interjected, "Wait a minute, wait just one minute!" He stopped short just behind River, causing Rory to bump into him, and Amy to bump into Rory, and Ten to bump into Amy and consequently grin awkwardly at her when she glanced back at him. Eleven held up his hands and pointed at River, "River, you weren't here the last time I was here, neither was I! Well…" he paused, blinking in realization and glancing at Ten, "this me, anyway. What is this, Universal 'Time Gets Rewritten Day'?"

River laughed and shook her head, seriously doubting he'd even been listening for her whole explanation, "Sweetie, in my book, every day is Universal Time Gets Rewritten Day. Now can we get going on saving our respective friends or are you just going to stand there and ramble like a cockamamie calligran?"

Eleven huffed, and before anybody could ask River what the hell a Calligran was, River rolled her eyes, grabbed his bowtie, and bodily jerked him down the hall. Rory simply shrugged and followed, and Amy simply threw her hands up in the air and followed Rory, and Ten (not wanting to be left behind in a strange Alien base/superconductor) followed Amy.

"So what are we going to do about the whole…impending invasion of Paris by Spiders?" Amy asked after a few minutes.

"We were going to do something about it?" Rory asked. He really just wanted to go home… Amy gave him a look that said, Duh, stupidface, and he nodded, "Right, okay."

"Well," River, Eleven, and Ten all said at the exact same time in the exact same tone. They paused and looked at each other, and then River began, "I was planning on blowing up the generator."

"You do realize that there'll be serious collateral damage to the Eiffel Tower if we do that," Ten said.

Eleven nodded, "And why do we have to blow it up, why can't we just…find the off switch?"

River gave a pseudo-amazed look, "For once you both agree on something!" She then returned to a serious expression, "because finding the off-switch would take far too long, the generator is a complex machine, there's multiple cables, there's a high risk of getting caught and killed, and thus not being able to stop the invasion at all…and if we blow it up-"

"-we'll cause a mass explosion that could take out this entire side of Paris, River." Eleven finished for her.

River stopped and turned, looking at him gravely, "It's the Eiffel Tower or the world, Doctor, you choose."


	17. Like Pompeii Like Paris

**A/N: (Feel Free to skip my useless rambling) Wow 50 Reviews! Holy Crap, this made my day! New milestone! **Here you all go, on a Tuesday as promised! Hopefully this chapter contains just the right balance of Plot update and cliffhanger... please enjoy, the climax of this part is coming Friday! :)

* * *

><p>16<p>

**Like Pompeii Like Paris**

Eleven and Ten stared, dumbfounded for a few moments at River before they both started rambling in unison.

"If we can just find the machine I'm sure that I'll be able to figure out all the cables, can't be that hard, can it-?" Ten was saying, "It's probably just a matter of getting the correct cross wires disabled and draining all the power from the core – which would mean we'd have to find the power source –"

Eleven suddenly exclaimed above his rambling to River, "Blow it up? Of course your first inclination is to blow it up!"

"-well, if we can't find the off-switch we just might have to-" Ten began.

"-I'm not going to blow up the _Eiffel Tower_!"

"Much less Paris, mm, quite. But we might have to…Paris or the world…champagne or the Himalayas, the Eiffel Tower or six billion people-"

"-it's not six billion yet." Eleven interrupted.

Ten nodded, "-well if you want to think about it that way then you might as well think about all the lives we'll be ending if we allow the Arachnid Deathicus-"

"-Arachnid _Ferus_-" Eleven growled.

Ten waved it off dismissively, "Right – to invade Earth in 1889… Donna, Martha, _Rose_-"

"Sarah Jane… Amy, Rory…thus…River." Eleven blinked, "Oi! You're not making this decision any easier!"

"I'm only trying to lay out the possibilities so we can get a clear shot!"

Eleven scoffed, "-A clear shot- it's not a game!"

"I never said it was!" Ten retorted in an annoyed Scottish brogue.

"Then stop acting like it is!" His future self seethed.

"I'm not!"

River's voice cut through their argument, "OI!" Both turned back from glaring at each other to look at her in surprise. She huffed, rolling up her sleeves, "Could just _shoot you both_, sometimes. GOD. Stop fighting! We've still got two people to save, remember? Let's save them and _then _worry about the other six-billion."

"-it's not six billion yet-" Eleven pointed out.

River rolled her eyes, "Sweetie, shut up." She turned to go and then called behind her, "Pretty boy, you're still with me."

Eleven pouted and glared at Ten, "Why d'you get to be with her?"

"Because she likes me better!" Ten replied, cheekily grinning and then bounding off after River.

He huffed and followed after them, Amy and Rory soon catching up. Amy hit Eleven spectacularly in the arm. Eleven winced, "What was that for?"

"For being such a child!" Amy retorted, "I'm not sure which of you I like better at this point."

Eleven looked hurt, "Me, of course! Right?" He glanced at Rory and then at Amy, and back and forth a few more times.

Amy rolled her eyes and grabbed his bowtie, pulling him after her. She said through gritted teeth, "C'mon!"

When Amy let go of him, he followed her, indignantly straightening his bowtie and jacket and running a hand through his hair. He felt abnormally un-useful… probably because River was here, she had a way of doing that. Rory walked beside him, and Eleven looked at him, "You're not mad at me too, right?"

Rory shook his head, "No."

"Good."

River stopped at the edge of a door, shushing Ten, who bumped into her and shushed Amy, who bumped into him and looked annoyed and then shushed Rory, who then blinked and shushed Eleven, who felt very put out because it seemed everybody was shushing _him_. River just glanced back at the group exasperatedly before pulling both her guns out and crouching.

They all crouched, but Eleven (who couldn't see River), tapped Rory on the shoulder and whispered, "Why are we crouching?"

Rory (who couldn't see River either), shrugged, "I don't know." He then turned to Amy, "Why are we crouching?"

She blinked, "I don't know…" She turned and hit Ten, "Why are we crouching?"

Ten looked at her in befuddlement and then crawled over to River, putting both hands on her shoulder and grinning at her, "So, why are we crouching?"

River (who'd heard everyone the first time but hadn't felt like answering because she figured Amy would), rolled her eyes, "Because I am. Now hush. There's two Silence in the next room."

"What are Silence? Nasty Aliens I wouldn't want to tangle with, I assume?" He asked.

"Something like that," she deadpanned.

River nodded and then held up her hand, counting down from three.

3…

2…

1…

She burst into the room, guns blazing, shooting both of the Silence down and three or four Arachnid Ferus while she was at it. Sparks showered from lab-equipment that had been hit. It was a similar room to what Amy had been in, white, with all sorts of nasty looking tools and computers. There were two chairs, one that was empty, but used recently, and the other occupied. Occupied by a young woman of about twenty, with hazely-blue, dazed eyes and curly, mad brown hair. River was already rushing over to free her from the chair.

"Hey, darling. Finally found you." She smiled at her and nodded her head toward Eleven.

The woman sat up suddenly once she was free and walked over to Eleven, grinning at him, "Have you met this me, yet?"

He blinked, "Have I what?"

Her face fell slightly, "Obviously not, but I'm sure you've met me. I'm Brooke."

His eyes widened, "You mean, like _big-creepy-house-in-my-tenth-regeneration-with-Donna_ Brooke?

"Yes!" She grinned brightly, "I've gotten up to quite a lot of trouble since then." She giggled, "So I take it this is only your second time?"

Eleven could only swallow and nod. This would take some getting used to. "You were just a kid a regeneration ago!"

She laughed, "That's what my parents say…minus the regeneration bit."

There was an exasperated squeak from Ten as he looked around the room, "Where's Donna?"

"Oh…" Brooke's spirits visibly dampened at the mention of his companion, "The Spiders took her to the top of the tower with the rest of the equipment…" she glanced at River, "they're almost ready."

River took a deep breath, "What equipment?"

"The generator and stuff, the spiders…the Silence don't know about it. They think that the Spiders are just going to get some information about the Doctor from her-"

"Like hell that'll happen," both the Eleventh and the Tenth Doctors snarled.

Brooke blinked and then looked back at River, "We need to hurry…they're probably putting everything in place right now."

River nodded, taking one of her guns and handing it to Brooke, "To the top of the tower, then." She glanced at the rest of the group, "Let's go."

Eleven caught her arm on the way out, waiting for the rest to go before hissing, "River, we don't have a _plan._"

River's face was set hard against what she knew she had to do, "Yes we do, you just don't like it."

"Blowing Paris up is _not _an option!"

"Says the man who left Pompeii to its own destruction to save the world."


	18. The Fires of Paris

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **At long last! Another update! Okay, I lied. It doesn't all get resolved in this chapter...but there's a major cliffie! :) I promise it WILL get resolved within the next 2 chapters and then it's on to jumping a few episodes of the series in the story timeline and we'll have a whole new plot/conflict and secrets to be revealed! Anyway, here's the update, hope you all enjoy :)

17

**The Fires of Paris**

He had left Pompeii to its own destruction. There was no doubt about that. He'd even pushed the button with Donna by his side begging him not to. He'd chosen the lesser of two evils, he'd chosen right… but he'd promised himself that he wasn't going to make those kinds of decisions anymore. He wasn't a god, he was just a madman with a box, and he couldn't handle those decisions…no matter how hard he tried. He didn't want River to have to live with that kind of decision either. He didn't want her to end up like him…the Destroyer of Worlds… everything he touched always fell apart. Everything. That was his destiny, and it was a destiny he'd been running from for his entire life. _Doctor_. Didn't that imply that he healed things? That he made them better? That he saved lives?

Maybe he didn't deserve that title anymore.

Seeing his Tenth Regeneration had brought so many painful memories to the surface. He desperately wanted to remember all the good he'd done like Amy had told him to when she saved the Starwhale, but… it always seemed that whatever good he created, he soon destroyed. That's what he was…a Destroyer, not a Doctor. He waltzed in with his blue box, whisking people off to see planets and wrecking their lives without meaning to.

Maybe it would be better if he was alone.

He turned and watched as River disappeared down the hallway of dimming lights. He swallowed, straightened his bowtie, and followed. There was no turning back. He'd gotten this far…how could he go back? The only thing that was left to do for him was to crash and burn, let his hurricane descend on Paris. He couldn't stop it. He was the Oncoming Storm, River was the Eye of his Hurricane… He could save the Universe from countless enemies…

But he couldn't save them from himself.

Everything he touched crumbled.

The Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer of Worlds.

The Silence of the Library.

The Fire of Pompeii.

Now… the Fire of Paris.

His Tenth Regeneration caught him on the arm, "It's Paris or the World, Mate. Sometimes…you have to kill to save a life." He replied quietly.

Eleven turned to him, looking him dead in the eye with so, so much hate. "_No._ That is _exactly_ why I hate that regeneration." He hissed, "You justify death, you create death, you turn people into weapons for your own ends, you're selfish, you're a killer, and I'm never going back to being _you_."

Something unfathomable was mirrored in each other's eyes as they stared at each other. Ten swallowed and let go, his eyes starting to mist before he turned and walked off, leaving Eleven standing in the hallway alone. He looked up at the ceiling, heaving a sigh before continuing down the corridor after his companions.

When he caught up with them, River was saying, "Alright, Amy…you go with Brooke and set this on the east and south sides of the tower when we get to the top, Rory you go with Pretty Boy and take the west and north sides, and I'm with Sweetie."

"Why does he get to be with you? I thought I was with you?" Ten groused.

River rolled her eyes and her tone became patronizing, as if she was talking to a small child, "You got to be with me last time, you two have to take turns, because I don't think you can play nicely long enough for you two to share." Her tone switched mid-way to seductive.

Rory blinked, "How does she manage to make that sound so dirty?" He whispered to Amy.

Amy just whacked him in the side, "Shut up."

"Heard that and Ew." Brooke commented, "See what I have to live with?" She walked over to River, "Is this important flirting? Because we've got a world to save at the moment…"

River smiled at her, "What's saving the world without a bit of flirting?" She then tossed two devices to Amy, who caught them, and to the Tenth Doctor, who fumbled, but still caught them, and then drew her guns.

Eleven blinked, "What are…what are we going to do?" He asked.

"Well somebody's got to distract those spiders." River said with a smirk. She was also saving him from having to actually set the charges…though she'd be the one detonating them. She tossed each group a communicator and then said, "Alright, off you go."

"Where?" Rory blinked.

River was loading her guns, and she barely looked up at him, "set the charges on the base of the tower." She didn't tell them she had one more left that she'd be putting into the generator herself. "Eleven and I'll be distracting the Spiders at the top for you." The main point of her sending everyone else to set the charges at the bottom was to keep them out of harm's way…she didn't want them to get caught, killed, or blown to bits. She looked up at them, "You all have to promise me that the minute the charges set, you'll leg it out of the city." She tossed them each a vortex manipulator and the coordinates to Ten's TARDIS.

Brooke frowned, looking at River, "But…what about you and…Eleven?"

River smiled, "We'll make it to the TARDIS after we've given you enough time to set the charges. Now go."

Rory, Amy, and Ten nodded, walking down the hall, but Amy was forced to wait for Brooke as the girl caught River's arm and hissed, "Liar. I know you have to detonate those charges manually…you'll be at the heart of the explosion…there'll be no getting out for you or him. You can't-"

River glared at her, shaking her head and giving her a push in Amy's direction. "Hush, do as I say."

Brooke bit her lip and glared right back at River before turning and walking out with Amy. River turned to the Doctor, "Ready?" She gave him a grin and grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of the top of the tower.

They ran up the flights of stairs, one foot in front of the other. Dread kept growing in Eleven's heart as he followed River up. She stopped in front of the door and held her hand up to stop him. River crouched, opening the door a crack. Her eyes widened as she saw the floor move as one roving mass of spiders. This…well… she wasn't planning on getting out of this anyway… but she was determined to at least get to the generator and detonate the explosives. She took a deep breath, scanning the top of the tower until she saw the device, a weird, marked, boxy thing that was hooked up to the four sides of the tower, humming away.

River swallowed and looked at the Doctor, giving him a coy smirk as she drew both her guns, "Let's give them hell."

XXX

Amy and Brooke trudged in heavy silence through the underground passages of the Eiffel Tower. Brooke was stomping along, a dark, brooding expression on her face as she angrily punched buttons in something that looked like a small cell-phone…probably a GPS to get them out of here.

"You alright?" Amy asked her after a few minutes.

"No, I'm not alright." Brooke hissed poisonously as she jabbed at another button. "She _insists_ on being the hero, just like him. Always the god-complex, always wanting to save the world to make up for all that she perceives she's failed at! _God, _someday I swear those heroics are going to kill her!"

Amy couldn't think of a reply to that, "How…did you two meet?"

Brooke gave a short, bitter laugh, "It's complicated. She's met me multiple times, three, to be exact."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"She met me when I was baby, when I was a small child, and then again when I was thirteen. When I was thirteen, I knew all about her… she had never met me, or so she thought. Complicated, time-travel is. You never know just who you're going to get. She was older when she met me when I was younger, you see. I met quite a … a _young _her the first time we met."

"You do realize that makes absolutely no sense." Amy remarked as Brooke used a small sonic screwdriver to open the door to the outside.

Brooke gave her a mirthless smile, "Yeah, it doesn't, but it's the way my life happens to be."

"Have you ever…y'know…"

"Met in the right order?" Brooke finished for her as she pushed open the door and drew her gun.

Amy nodded, "Yeah."

Brooke got a very, very far away look in her eyes, "Yes. Twice… and we stayed linear for a long time after that."

"What…" Amy swallowed, "What happened?"

Brooke shrugged, "Spoilers."

"Are we good friends in the future? Do I…know you?"

Brooke chuckled quietly, "Quite well, actually."

"So…which…one is River this time, for you?"

"Old." Brooke said softly.

Amy blinked, "Did you see her die? Do you know how she dies? Is that how you know that she's old? How old was she when you were a baby?"

They walked around to the side of the tower, and Brooke said, "Hand me the first pack."

Amy did, and Brooke attached it to the base of the tower, then kept walking in silence to the next side so she could put on the next pack of explosives and set the charge.

"Are you going to answer me or not?" Amy asked her rather crossly, folding her arms.

"Nope." Brooke replied, setting the charge, "Now, we should get going…River will kill us if we don't do what she says." She tossed her a vortex manipulator and began inputting the coordinates.

She paused when she heard it, the creaking, scraping, metallic hiss.

XXX

"So, you really don't know what you're doing, then, do you?" Rory asked the Tenth Doctor for the umpteenth time as he sonicked the explosive to get it to stay on the Tower.

"Nah, it's simple. Attach it to the tower, attach it to the other explosives so they'll all go off at the same time." Ten replied.

"Is sonicking it really a good idea? What if it…y'know…"

"Explodes?" Ten finished for him. He whirled around and grinned at Rory, "It won't. I'm making sure it won't."

"You're sabotaging River's plan?" Rory blinked.

"Rory, I'm not going to blow up Paris. I'm not going to do this. Not again."

"What do you mean again?"

"No time to explain."

"You don't trust her, do you?" Rory asked after a few minutes.

"I don't trust anybody. Except probably Donna. Yes…I trust Donna."

Rory threw his hands up in the air and shook his head, "Fine. But I had no part in helping you sabotage her plan."

Ten grinned, "Of course not! Look, rigging the explosives will give me enough time and element of surprise to find the off-switch and disable the device. Paris saved, World sa- what?"

Rory's mouth was wide open and his eyes were round as he stared past Ten's shoulder. Ten turned and was met with a crowd of fast moving spiders that were quickly surrounding them.


	19. Plans Never Work

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Thank you so, so much for being patient readers and bearing with me. I really do apologize for this not being up on time, but I'm sure you all can understand as my sister is in the ICU. She's just had open-heart surgery, and thankfully it went well (Praise God!), and I thank you all for your prayers/support. You're the best readers out there! So here you go, our climax. Hopefully it reads the same way it happened in my head, my mind's a bit messed up from running on ICU sleep, (which is basically no sleep, haha!) Enjoy, and please leave a review and let me know if it's goop and spitup, or if you actually liked it ;) Thanks again for being the best readers on earth! I'll shut up now...

* * *

><p>18<p>

**Plans Never Work**

"When I say "Let's give them hell" I don't mean go and do your own bloody thing and get us caught!" River snapped.

Eleven huffed, "I was trying to disable the device so we don't destroy half a million people, River!"

River rolled her eyes as she struggled against her restrains, "Why can't you just follow the plan?"

"I never follow anyone's plans…except my own." Eleven pouted, stretching and trying to reach his sonic screwdriver.

"Well your plans always bloody fail."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"What about when I successfully saved all of us from the Weeping Angels by shooting the Byzantium?"

"That wasn't a plan, that was a spur of the moment idea because we were trapped." River huffed, "And stop that, you're only going to make the restraints tighter. You can't reach your bloody screwdriver."

"Don't call my screwdriver bloody." He sulked, "And my spur-of-the-moment plan was brilliant."

"It was stupid."

"It was stupidly brilliant."

"Granted."

They heard the all-too-familiar scuttle of a thousand spiders filling their ears. River and the Doctor glanced at each other, frozen, eyes wide. What was going to happen now? Would they kill them? Had they found their friends? The Doctor swore, if they'd gotten ahold of Amy and Rory, he was going to burst out of these confounded ropes and…

"Doctor?" Amy was sat down on the chair, two spiders crawled up her chair, up and around her shoulders, and her eyes closed. God…she hated those things. They curled around her wrists, two more around her ankles, and snapped into place with a rattle and a hiss. She jerked her hands around, trying to get out as Rory, Brooke, and Ten were given the same treatment.

"Brilliant job, distracting and whatnot." Brooke deadpanned as she tested her restraints.

River rolled her eyes, "It's his fault." She jerked her head toward Eleven.

Eleven glared, "My fault?"

"If you would just stick to the bloody plan-"

"OI!" Amy yelled, "We're kinda in a pickle, can we make a new plan, please?"

He huffed and watched as the spiders crawled around the sides of the Eiffel Tower. This was it, this was the time when he was supposed to whip out his screwdriver, do something brilliant, and save the day. He locked eyes with himself, sitting across from him. Ten looked at him with those terrible, broken, empty brown eyes. Old, deep, pained. He wanted to do something about this. He needed to do something about this. He could hear the spiders crawling up the sides, the people gathering around the tower as they watched the metal of it come away with hundreds of tiny malevolent aliens. He couldn't do anything. But he must.

They heard a strange, loud sound, one of metal bolts and levers clicking and whirring and locking into place, and all of a sudden, the little spiders were forming into one big spider. Its fangs chattering as it stared at him, the power from its core rippling through its center. The thing stood, looking hideous against the moon, its skin crawling as the various parts moved as waves of metal. It stared at them, letting out something akin to a scream, a laugh, a something of triumph. Then, a voice.

"The Silence think they are the masters of this planet. They skulk in their tunnels, thinking they see and know and control all. But they forget that we skulk in the shadows of this planet as well, biding our time, waiting until we will rise." The thing let out a murderous chuckle. "This planet is ours, and there's nothing you can do to stop me, Doctor. Not in all your power. Not even with two of you."

"Yeah, well, you know what they say, double-trouble and whatnot." Ten replied, looking far more calm than he should be at this moment, and Eleven knew why.

The thing laughed, "The Silence have a pitiful goal. Why kill one Doctor when you can kill two?"

"You think you can kill him?" Amy scoffed, "Not my Doctor, you won't."

"Amy…" Eleven's tone was cautious. There was no telling what It might do in this position, when it had all the power.

"Yeah, we're a bit like worms, we are." Ten said, grinning cheekily, "We don't die so easily, you see. So why don't you just let us go, and I won't have destroy anything."

Suddenly, electricity coursed through River, and she let out a scream as her body convulsed. Brooke, Ten, and Eleven jerked forward in their chairs against their restrains. The electricity released River, the metal around her wrists steaming and sparking. She took long, ragged breaths, slumping forward.

"Do not test me." It said angrily.

Eleven's eyes were dark with anger as he glared at the Spider. "No, don't test me. Don't ever test me."

Ten's eyes were smoldering, but he was quiet.

"Sweetie?" River's voice was hoarse and choked, "I'm fine. Just a bit of an electric shock."

Eleven clenched his jaw, his fingers fisting. But he couldn't do anything. Not yet.

"Finally, I have the last person in the Universe who can stop me, locked tight by my spiders." It laughed horribly again.

"Yeah, one small problem with that." Ten said, twitching his fingers a bit. He stood, brushing off the spiders around his arms and legs. "I'm not locked up, am I?" He grinned at the monster, whipping out his screwdriver and sonicking everyone's restraints. Eleven stood up immediately, grabbing his screwdriver. The creature was too stunned to make much of a response.

"Like I said. Don't ever, ever test me." Eleven said, aiming his sonic at the spider, "Not any of me." A small smirk played at the corner of his lips, "And let me say, there's quite a lot of me in the Universe." He then turned, looking at his friends and companions and himself, "Ten, you disable the device, River cover me. Brooke, cover River. Amy and Rory…get down."

He returned his attention to the creature with full force. His sonic turned on with a whirr, and the creature roared in pain. The Eiffel tower shook with the force of it as it writhed and sparked, like a daddy-long-legs whose legs have been ripped off by a child. Slowly, each leg on it disintegrated into a pile of sparking, screaming, hissing spiders as the monster trembled.

For a moment, it seemed everything was working right. Ten was rushing over to the device, pushing buttons and trying to make sense of it as Eleven walked slowly around the squirming and thrashing as his screwdriver transmitted pain to its core. His eyes were dark. That thing wanted to kill his humans. His Earth. It'd hurt his River. And he had some possessive-attitude issues. He was angry, and he wasn't about to be quiet about it this time.

Ten was scurrying, jumping, pushing buttons, River was covering Eleven and Brooke was covering River. Rory and Amy had long since ducked under their chairs because Spiders from the various exploding appendages were crawling all over the floor. They were the eye of this hurricane of murderous clacking, hissing, howling, screaming, metallic scratches and scrapings, clattering and clangings. It was loud and horrible and frightening, and terrible. Ten was frustrated, trying to decipher which cables did what and what buttons slammed the doohickey and reversed the mainframe. It was complicated, even for a Time Lord with a screwdriver. This was going to be a lot harder than he'd imagined. He didn't have the time! It was counting down, the mother ship was almost here by its scanners.

"Have you got it, yet, Pretty Boy?" River called, shooting one spider after the other.

"Ahh…not yet!"

"Well hurry!"

He let out a small growl, his fingers punching angrily at buttons and disconnecting cables and reconnecting cables, "I am hurrying!"

Rory pulled Amy into his arms as she looked around with wide eyes. Brooke backed up so she was standing in between them and the creature, gun pointed, shooting spiders as they disconnected from the creature. But something was wrong, something was very wrong. They weren't stopping. The gunfire disabled them for a moment, but then the got right back up and kept going.

"River!" Brooke finally screamed. River turned and tackled her before a spider could leap on top of her. She shot the spider once, finally stomping on it and crushing the creature till it was a pile of short-circuited scrap-metal. She kicked another and changed a setting on her gun, shooting it and smirking as it dissolved into a smoking mess.

She tossed Brooke this gun, then took the one she held in her left hand into both her hands, standing back to back with Brooke as they shot spiders left and right.

"Just like old times, hm?" Brooke chuckled.

"Like I when I saved you on Eidiamus?" River chuckled back, kicking a spider and shooting it.

Brooke rolled her eyes, firing her gun, "Oh please, I was saving you."

"Then what were you doing tied up?" River replied, laughing and then yelling, "Duck!" As a spider flew over their heads.

Brooke shot it and glanced back at River, "Yeah, well…I was just relieving the natives of some supplies they really didn't need. I mean, what are the natives on Eidiamus going to do with a Lithiamand Extrapolator?"

"What were you going to do with it?" River quirked an eyebrow at her when she yelled, "Behind you, Pretty Boy!" She blasted a spider that was sneaking up on the Tenth Doctor. It exploded into a shower of sparks behind him.

The Tenth Doctor blinked and glanced back at her, "Thanks!" He waved slightly with his sonic before pointing it at another spider and quickly disabling it.

"No problem. Try not to get yourself killed." River winked at him as she and Brooke switched places.

They kept backing up, shooting spiders as they went until they were standing in front of Amy and Rory again. Eleven was running from the creature as it regained itself and gave out a homicidal hiss, clambering after him on the eight legs that were quickly reforming.

He was suddenly back to back with Brooke and River, huffing. "It just won't give up!"

"Kinda like you." Brooke commented, "What do we do?"

"I'm going to-well… I-"

And suddenly, that's when it all went wrong. Spiders that they hadn't been paying attention to leapt on top of River, Brooke, and crawled up the Eleventh Doctor. They clamped around limbs, heads, and arms, his body burning and convulsing, fire pouring into him, setting his hearts off-beat as he was electrocuted. The hissing ripped into his head, murderous, high-pitched, angry. No longer were they freaky, annoying, pests. This was an enemy, an enemy that wanted him as dead as the next, that was going to destroy the whole human race. For what? For power? He sank to the ground, his knees hitting the metal with a painful thwack. He was no longer in control of his limbs as spiders clamped up and around him, covered every inch of his body with a moving, metal prison. He could barely turn his head to look, but he was sure it was happening to his friends. In a detached state, seemingly far away, Amy was screaming, "Doctor!"

River was the last to go down. Tears burned at the corners of both Doctors' eyes as they watched the proud River Song, guns blazing, mad hair whipping about, consumed by the electricity and forced to her knees. Her eyes were wide with pain, pleading with him to do something, even though she knew he couldn't.

The Spider fully reformed, laughing at his immobile prisoners. "You really think that I'm that easy to destroy? It's ten-thousand to one, a billion to two, Doctor. You can't win. You won't." A terrible, horrible, disgusting laugh rippled through it. "Earth is ours, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. I will subjugate them, just like I've subjugated you. They will be mine to do with as I please."

And just to prove his point, his metal leg slammed down, and a scream was torn from Amy's throat as blue sparks ran through her body.

"Humans. Weak. Not like you…" It laughed again as Amy continued to writhe and scream, tears streaming down her face, "You're stronger," It said to Eleven, "but not by much. I can still squash you... like a bug." That raspy, creaking noise of a chuckle boomed through the tower again because it found its own morbid jokes so amusing.

Both Doctors were seeing red at this point, hell, River was seeing red. And what hurt the most wasn't the fact that Amy was being tortured and Earth was on the brink of invasion. It was the fact that the three of them, even together, couldn't stop it.

Its leg slammed down again, and Amy's torture stopped. But there was a new sound, a whirring, getting more and more high-pitched, faster and faster. The device was gearing up, beginning the glow purple, sparking and preparing to shoot off its lethal beam of electricity.

"And so, it is not the reign of the Silence that will terrorize Earth, not the Age of Steel, no…" The Spider's voice raised in triumph, "It is the Order of the Arachnids!"

The device gave a shudder, Eleven's eyes closed, and the light became unbearable. The Super-Conductor started to shoot a beam of electricity skyward.


	20. What I Remember

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **so this is the chapter to end this part of the fic. In the next one we'll be moving on to post-AGMGTW. So hang on and have fun! Oh, and you can thank the fact that I'm sitting here in the hospital, my sister asleep, twiddling my thumbs for the ridiculously fast update. I suppose I should've made you all wait longer and agonize over the cliffhanger, huh? ;P Anyway...enjoy! And don't forget to leave a review. ;)

* * *

><p>19<p>

**What I Remember**

A tear formed at the corner of Eleven's eye as he listened to the sickening triumphant roar of the Spider as the electricity seemed to burn a whole through the very fabric of the Universe. He was failing. He couldn't save Paris. Not even two of him plus River could save Paris, and now, because he'd tried to save Paris… He'd done it at the cost of the World. Everyone was going to die and it was all his fault.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry, everyone's going to die and it's all my fault."

Eleven blinked and looked at himself. "What? How is this your fault? This isn't your fault."

"Yes it is. If I'd been faster at disabling the device-"

"It's not your fault." Eleven interrupted firmly. He couldn't stand that horrible look in Ten's deep brown eyes that spoke of all the pain the Doctor had felt, he didn't want to feel that…because he could. He could still remember how he'd felt up here, and if he could do something to help with a bit of that pain…he would. He'd do anything. He'd do anything to go back and change all of that.

You'd think he'd be able to, what with being a time-traveler and all. But he couldn't just go back and rewrite his history like that, as much as he wanted to. There were so many things he'd change if he could. He wouldn't have left Sarah-Jane, he wouldn't have taken Rose with him and screwed up every one of his companions so much. He wouldn't have turned them into weapons. He'd stop River from ever going to the library and stop himself from ever going as well. His life would be so different. People would've been different. Would it have been a good different? Probably not, but that didn't stop him from blaming himself for screwing people up all the time.

Ten broke eye contact, looking up at the light as the brightness had substantially decreased. Amy and River were still slumped from the torture and Brooke was glaring straight ahead. Rory was simply staring at Amy, wishing he could help. He was a nurse, dammit! He needed to help if he could!

The sparking and whirring of the device was loud almost to the point of being painful. Mother-ship was descending, they could see it now, a great, hideous, loathsome metal disk, with a blue center that was sucking up the energy and great, long legs that were slowly opening and descending. As the magmortiums ship descended, the Spider said, "Watch and bear witness, humans and Time Lords, watch as the Arakina, our Queen descends on your world. How does it feel, Doctor, to lose yet another planet?" A disgusting chuckle rumbled from its center as both Doctors' jaws clenched, fingers fisting, eyes glaring. "So helpless, your plans have failed, we've captured your allies, you're outnumbered, outgunned, and powerless to do anything."

"Oi! Shelob! You forgot one!"

Ten and Eleven's faces suddenly broke out into hug grins as the Spider turned. There was Donna, holding the end to a cord from the machine.

"You know, I normally can't even plug in my computer, but you Spiders are so bloody brilliant as to kindly mark your power cord." She twirled it around casually, smirking as the Spider just stared at her. "Oh, I think he's a bit surprised, wouldn't you say, Doctor?"

"Gob-smacked, I'd say." Ten replied, grinning. Above them, the stream of electricity ended, shooting up what was left of its energy straight to the core of the ship. It exploded like a fireworks display from the inside out above their heads, raining down sparks as the ship quickly tried to retreat, and finally completely combusted in space.

Donna shrugged, "Oops?"

The creature shuddered with anger, "Humans…you can't- you won't-" It screamed, writhing, "What is- what is-?"

Donna raised an eyebrow, "Having a bit of a stammer there? Hm, you see, the interesting thing I found out about this here device," she pointed to the generator, "Is that you're all linked to it. That's brill, that is, very clever, makes it oh-so-convenient for the rest of us. We want you gone, we just pull the plug." She looked insanely pleased with herself as she dropped the cord, walking past the writhing spider. The restraints, having lost their power, were quickly dropping off everybody's arms.

Ten sprung from his seat, "You are brilliant! Yes you are!" He pulled Donna into a tight hug. Their laughter rang off the tower as Donna explained all of her exploits, how she'd escaped from the spiders on the way up and found her way into a computer, how she'd discovered all about the device and its properties and what they were using it for.

Eleven stood, watching them sadly, his heart crumbling as he watched his brilliant, ginger, amazing Donna Noble. Happy, and with him, right where they both wanted to be. How he'd missed her smile, that bright laugh, and all of that lip she gave! Her sarcasm and the way she would punch his arm and wrap her arms around him and hug him like she meant it. He swallowed. What he wouldn't give to have all of that back…

"Oi, where's River got to?"Amy asked suddenly.

"She went off to go grab her explosion doohickey's, they're apparently expensive and she doesn't want them hanging around Paris. Apparently it couldn't wait." Brooke rolled her eyes.

Donna blinked and then shrugged and turned to Amy, sticking out her hand. "Donna Noble."

"Amy Pond." Amy grinned and shook it, looking at Donna's hair, "Nice hair."

Donna laughed, "Yeah well, you too."

Brooke briefly introduced herself, and Donna grinned and said hello before looking at Eleven. Eleven's heart finally dissolved into a puddle of acid as he took Donna's hand, swallowing, unable to speak.

"Who's this then?" Donna asked, grinning, "Kinda cute, if a bit gangly."

Eleven laughed at that, a mirthless, pained, laugh with a smile that didn't reach his stricken eyes. Ten struggled with how to answer her and Eleven beat him to it. Taking a huge gulp, his voice hoarse, he managed, "Just a-a friend."

Donna grinned, "I like the bowtie. It's cool."

If it were anyone else, he would've perked up at that comment and smiled brightly, but Eleven's eyes were simply moist as he looked into his impossible Donna's eyes, like he was staring at something that wasn't real, and nodded. "Thanks," he whispered. He wanted for all the world to reach out, to pull her into a tight hug and to never let go, to keep her in his arms forever, safe, happy, to fix all of what was to come. But he couldn't.

"You were brilliant." He said, coughing a little, choking on his words, nobody understanding that he meant that about so much more than was implied.

Donna gave him that modest, beautiful smile that he loved, shrugging, "I try, gotta keep up with this one." She jerked her thumb to Ten.

Eleven laughed sadly again, "You're better than he is," he said sincerely, locking eyes with Ten, who was looking at him oddly. Donna was mirroring Ten's expression.

"I'm a temp, from chiswick. He's a spaceman from Gallifrey, and he's flippin' fantastic." Donna said, chuckling.

"So are you." Eleven replied, straightening his bowtie and breaking eye-contact. "You're brilliant, Donna Noble, you are. You may not believe that, not under all that lip you give…but you're brilliant. Remember that."

Donna quirked an eyebrow at his speech, realizing that he was serious. "Do I know you, like, in the future. Is this one of those weird spoiler things?"

Eleven gave her a melancholy smile, "You don't know me, no, but I know you." Then, suddenly returning to his usual demeanor, he said. "Right…Doctor…" he said, nodding to Ten, "Off in the TARDIS, The Ponds and River and Brooke and I'll meet you at these coordinates." He winked, "We have cake…"

Ten grinned, "Ooh! Cake! Cake, Donna! That's brilliant!" He took Donna's hand and walked away, muttering about all the different kinds of cake he'd had on the cake-planet he'd been to once, and Donna not so gently reminding him to shut up.

River appeared a few minutes later, carrying all of her devices. She put a hand on Eleven's shoulder, giving him a sad smile before taking his hand, "C'mon, the world's saved…sounds like we've got a chocolate cake to cut into." She nodded toward Amy.

Amy blinked, "Wait… don't we have a chocolate cake at my house?"

River gave her a wink and pulled Eleven off in the direction of the house, "Let's go!"

"You can't eat that one, that's for my aunt's birthday!" Amy called after them, before huffing, rolling her eyes, and grabbing Rory by the collar, "Oh, come on, stupidface."

* * *

><p>Eleven walked around the corner of the Pond yard to find Ten and Donna preparing to leave. He ran up to them, "You leaving so soon? We were just about to have cake…and…and nice stuff, celebrating saving Paris and whatnot."<p>

"Never was much of a partier." Ten chuckled softly, catching himself on the doorframe. Ever since they'd arrived back at the Pond place, he'd been quiet and brooding. Eleven had guessed that he'd be leaving soon. He was disappointed by that, he'd wanted to spend some time with Donna, maybe even hug her. Ten shoved his hands inside his pocket, letting Donna walk in the TARDIS before him and then turning to face himself. "Is that really what my regeneration ends up being? Just…a fat load of…left-behinds, well-wishes, broken promises, and what ifs?"

"No, that's just what I remember." Eleven replied, swallowing and kicking the ground idly.

"Is that what other people remember?"

"Other people remember you being brilliant…and some…some don't remember at all." He replied, forcing his gaze not to linger over Donna, who was standing just inside the TARDIS door, listening.

"Who?"

Eleven shook his head, returning his gaze to the grass and fiddling with his bowtie, his eyes pained, "Can't tell you," he whispered.

After a long pause, Ten asked, "So what do I…what happens?"

Eleven took a long sigh before looking up into his past-self's eyes and answering, "You were brilliant…just…remember the good days. The good days don't necessarily make the bad days less bad…but the good days make the bad days worth it. Doesn't mean that you should forget the bad days, there's always bad days you should remember, people you should remember," at that, he paused, thinking over Sarah Jane, Rose, Mickey, Martha, Donna... River. He swallowed. "- but above all… remember the good days. Remember the days when you were brilliant. Remember the days when everybody lived." Eleven backed up, looking sadly at the two as Ten stared at him. "Off you go then."

"Hey, you big idiot…" Donna stepped out, walking over to Eleven, "You're kinda cute, I'd get coffee with you sometime but…y'know, stuck with him and all." She grinned and shrugged, "But, seriously, get a life." Donna said, chuckling, "Maybe a girlfriend. I can't stand that look on your face."

With that, she walked back and slipped her hand back in Ten's. "Will I see you again, sometime?" She asked.

Eleven sighed, "Probably not."

"Right well…I guess this is goodbye." She said, looking up at him and smiling a bit sadly, "We've only just met…"

Eleven smiled at her and then stared down at the floor. No, they hadn't just met. She still had so much more time, and for that he was grateful. He swallowed, looking at Ten, then back at her. Ten figured they'd need a moment. He wasn't always as rude as he seemed. He stepped into the TARDIS and gave them a few minutes.

Eleven began. "Donna, you've heard River talk about it. You know that…that you're not there in the future. I'm-" He searched her face as the realization dawned in her eyes.

"You're him." She replied softly. "Future him. Future him without me." His heart broke over and over again as he watched her face fall.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"So this really is goodbye, for you." She whispered.

He nodded again.

She swallowed and put a hand on his chest, feeling his double heartbeat and then looking up at him.

"Donna… we've got to go." Ten called from inside the TARDIS.

She glanced back at him, her eyes a bit misty, "I'm coming!" Her blue eyes returned to Eleven's, and a smile quirked at one side of her mouth. "Goodbye, Doctor."

He felt that part of him die again, that part that'd died when he left her at her house, with no recollection of any of their times together, all that time, wasted, ruined. Eleven suddenly threw his arms around Donna, hugging her tightly. "Goodbye, Donna Noble. My brilliant Donna…" He whispered into her hair, eyes closed as he held her for one last time.

All too soon, she let go, smiling at him, reaching up and wiping away one little tear that'd broken free of her defenses. She stepped onto the door, waving at him with a grin, those traces of tears still lingering in her eyes.

He actually properly smiled at her for the first time, even though behind his smile, his eyes were pained and lost. She nodded and shut the door, and the TARDIS faded away from sight.

He heaved a sigh again, watching with a terrible, melancholy look on his face. Brooke walked up to him, "Hey, Amy's cutting the ca- why'd Ten leave?"

"Because that's what he does." Eleven said, a hint of bitterness stinging the edge of his words. "He just…just leaves, running. Always running."

Brooke shrugged, "That's what we do too, y'know."

Eleven turned to her, "We meaning who?"

She grinned impishly, "Us. Come on, ice-cream's melting."

They walked back over to the lawn set-up, where Amy was cutting the cake and Rory was dishing out ice-cream, and River was fixing the band on the vortex manipulator.

Brooke walked up to River, "You finished with that yet?"

"Mm, nope, Love…give me two minutes and then you can have it."

"Wait, River…isn't that yours?" Amy asked confusedly, handing the Doctor a bowl of fish fingers and custard. She smiled at him, "We keep it on hand."

River shook her head, "No, it's Brooke's," she stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What in the Universe are you doing with a Vortex Manipulator! Time Travel is illegal, you know!" Eleven sputtered, nearly dropping his fish finger into the custard.

"Said the Doctor." Brooke quipped as River handed her the newly-fixed device. She smiled at the blonde, "Thank-you."

"Welcome, Love. Anytime." River replied, grinning at her as the Doctor continued to mumble unintelligible things about how somebody that old couldn't possibly be a regular time-traveler, it just wasn't safe. Anything could happen!

Rory sat down, licking his spoon and then sticking it back into his ice-cream and glancing at River and Brooke, "So how do you two know each other?"

Brooke shrugged casually, "She fixes my vortex manipulators when they break, I occasionally do her hair for her-"

"Oh, honey, I'd never let you anywhere near my hair."

"Hey! I'd do fine with it!"

"The incident on the Second Moon of Yalagor?" River raised an incriminating eyebrow and took a bite of her cake.

Brooke huffed, "That was a minor miscalculation on the amount of hair gel you used."

"Minor? My hair didn't move for a week! It took me that long to wash all of that out! Not to mention you insisted on using the Forgranra brand, which, is made for Slitheens, not humans."

"How was I supposed to know it would dye your hair green? In my defense I was only ten!"

River chuckled and patted her knee affectionately, "And I've never let you touch my hair since."

"Anyway," Amy broke off their little banter by handing everyone cups of soda, "To saving Paris from metal spiders."

The glasses clinked, and everyone took a sip. Once cake and ice-cream were finished, Brooke stood, "Well, I should go…places to see, people to meet, I hear Leonardo Da Vinci could use some help fighting against a few aliens."

Rory frowned, "Don't you have…school, and parents or something?"

Brooke chuckled, a dangerous smile lighting up her face as she fiddled with the band on her vortex manipulator, "Or something."

With that, she pressed a button and faded away. Just as quickly as she'd fell into everybody's lives, she was gone. The Doctor stared at the space where she'd once been, blinking and then shaking his head. He wondered if this was how his companions and other people felt when he just suddenly up and left him. He'd always rather enjoyed the feeling, if he was leaving people he didn't know. It baffled people. He liked being baffling. Maybe Brooke did too. Certainly River did, he was convinced that being baffling was one of her _hobbies_.

"I wonder if we'll ever see her again," he mused, mostly to himself.

River gave him a knowing smirk, "Mm, eventually."

"How do you know?" He asked. Oh, he was setting himself up for her characteristic reply, he just knew it. A classic, sly smile spread itself over River's face.

_3… 2… 1…_

"Spoilers."


	21. The Louvre

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Back to the regular posting schedule! Which for those of you who forgot is every **Tuesday/Friday**. Usually it will be posted **before** **9AM** (US Pacific Coast Time), but sometimes it may be posted later if I haven't had the time to get on in the morning. It will never be posted later than **10PM**. Anyway, so this part (or book) of the story is set directly after AGMGTW, The Doctor was planning on taking Amy and Rory to the beach for some R&R...but the TARDIS had different ideas... Enjoy and Review!

* * *

><p>20<p>

**The Louvre**

The Doctor poked his head out of the TARDIS door looking very pleased. The sun was out, the air was mild, and it looked to be a beautiful day! The telltale skyline, with the triangle-shaped tower that jutted up above all other things, was easily seen and smogless. The river ran through the city lazily, cutting an ancient path that was now spanned with wide bridges. Little cars drove over these, zooming along like tiny matchbox cars. Of course, the Ponds thought they were going to the beach, but Sexy had spotted trouble and the Doctor couldn't really argue about if they were going to fix it or not. Amy was going to kill him.

He licked his finger and held it up, testing the air before sucking on his finger again thoughtfully. "2010, by the feel of it." He muttered to himself. Then, he stuck is head back through the blue doors of his TARDIS and yelled, "Come along, Ponds! We've got a city to see!"

"Doctor, I thought you said that we were going to the-" Amy paused as she walked out, blinking at the horizon, "…beach."

Rory came in behind her, looking very much confused, "Why on Earth are we at Paris again? I hate Paris."

The Doctor chuckled, "Oh, you only hate it because of our run-in with the Arachnid Ferus!"

"Do not. It's a terrible city."

"Do too." The Doctor contradicted before continuing, "The TARDIS brought me here. Adventure awaits!"" He grinned.

"I think we've worn out our welcome on adventure in Paris." Amy mumbled, crossing her arms.

The Doctor shook his head, straightening his red silk bowtie, "Nonesense! Everything happens in Paris! Revolutions, for one. Though don't believe what the history books tell you, history books are rubbish. They leave out all the good parts about aliens and alien invasions and me stopping them. And you thought The Scarlet Pimpernel was just a story…" He giggled spastically.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh so humble."

Honestly, the Doctor was hoping that Sexy's trip to Paris was simply to cheer the Ponds up. Amy was still devastated from losing Melody and then seeing Mels transform into River…well…that was really something! Yes…something was the word for it. Half of him hoped this trip would be calm, the other half longed for adventure and running. Always lots of running.

He started walking toward the Louvre, "Let's go, we've got an art museum to crash! Oh! I wonder if there'll be a revolution!" He looked absolutely overjoyed at that prospect, clapping his hands in spastic glee as if revolutions were marvelous ideas.

They stopped in front of the large, ornate building. A crystal pyramid jutted out towards the sky, and the bricks were glowing a flush rose color as the early morning light played over their stones. It was a classic French style, with hundreds of lush arches and large windows, vaulted ceilings and gold inlay in the woodwork. The columns and arches that supported the structure were reminiscent of the glory of the Roman Republic and Greek Democracy. The lighting was distinctly modern, though. The windows blazed with light from a thousand electric lights.

The Doctor smiled back at the Ponds, "Ponds first."

Inside was even more awe inspiring. The gallery was huge, reminding them a bit of the TARDIS as endless halls stretched out here and there, vast pillars supporting magnificent ceilings, all polished white till they shone. Paintings and sculptures and every form of art, from Van Gogh to Rembrandt hung here. They didn't even know where to start!

Amy's face was instantly brighter as she dragged Rory to the nearest painting, making exclamations that could wake every dog in the nearest vicinity, despite the quite hubbub of the bustling building. Smiling in satisfaction, the Doctor tugged on his lapels and took long, quick strides to where they were standing.

"Ah! The Mona Lisa. Painted by Leonardo Da Vinci!" He said the last words with a perfect (if a little exaggerated) Italian accent, as if he were from 1500s Florence, not a Brit-speaking Gallifreyan Time Lord.

Amy gawked up at the painting, breathing in awe, "The real one."

"Better than Van Gogh?" Eleven teased, staring up at the painting.

Amy rolled her eyes and then continued to stare at the painting, her brow furrowing when something caught the light. She peered as closely as she could at it without setting off any alarms, eyes dragging over the perfect and skilled brushstrokes…

"Amy- since when were you this interested in art?" Rory asked in confusion.

Amy held up her hand to shush him, "Shut up." She frowned. Yes, that was most definitely a tiny rip in the painting. It began at the inner corner of the right eye, in the tear-duct. Her frown deepened and she glanced at Eleven, "Doctor, what's that?" She pointed to the tear.

The Doctor leaned forward, desperately wanting to rip out his sonic, but that would probably set off some sort of alarm. His eyes narrowed as he studied the painting, "That is odd… very…that shouldn't be there, this painting is kept under lock and key, it's being restored all the time…" He popped up suddenly and looked around for the exhibit caretaker and, when he didn't see him, whipped out his sonic and pointed at the painting, trying to get a reading on it. He was worried about what kind of tear it might be…if it was a crack in the Universe…

"Excuse me, sir, you can't do that!" A severe-looking woman walked up to them, a scowl permanently glued on her face as she looked at her culprits.

The Doctor smiled charmingly at her, tossing his sonic lightly, "Ah, sorry…just…wanting a better look at the painting." He flashed his psychic paper, "I'm the curator for the British Museum of Art, I'm called the Doctor, just the Doctor. These are my associates, Amy Pond and Rory Pond." He said that all so quickly the woman barely had time to register any of that before he said, "Did you know you have a crack in this painting, a tear! Disgraceful, isn't it, Amy?"

Amy blinked and then nodded enthusiastically, frowning, "Oh, very disgraceful, Doctor. Very. Shame."

"Why some would argue this is the greatest work of Leonardo Da Vinci, and you have it in such disrepair!"

The museum caretaker folded her arms, "Well, I-"

"Now, if you would allow me and my associates to take it upstairs, perhaps have a look at it, I can repair it quite quickly and we'll say no more about the Mona Lisa getting torn on your watch, hm?" He said rapidly, raising a non-existent eyebrow at her. His sonic had given him an interesting reading, but he wanted a second look just to make sure.

The caretaker's frown deepened, "Well first of all, Doctor, my name is Marguerite Jean- DeGas, I'm the museum curator and I'm not letting you anywhere near this painting. We have our own repair team, thank you very much." With that she stalked off, mumbling into a walkie-talkie of some sort for the painting-restoration team to prepare for the Mona Lisa.

The Doctor crossed his arms as the painting was taken away. Something was most definitely not right here. That was not an ordinary tear, he knew it.

"Come along, Ponds." He mumbled, stomping off down the stairs through the Louvre.

"Doctor, what was that?" Amy asked as the passed under the arches. Rory was tramping along behind, not really bothering to butt into the conversation. Nobody was going to pay attention to him anyway. He always asked the stupid questions.

"What was what?"

"Don't play daft with me." She chastened, putting her hands on her hips, "Why's the tear so important? Can't they just fix it, no harm done?"

He glanced back at the Ponds as he paced on the marble floor, seemingly oblivious to the hubbub around him, "It's a tear in a Temporal Relocation Lock."

Amy blinked in confusion, leaning her hand on one of the banisters, "What's a Temporal Relocation Lock?" She stepped aside so Rory could move to give some random passersby room to walk up the stairs.

The Doctor chewed on his bottom lip, running his hand through his hair and looking very seriously at both of the Ponds, "A prison."


	22. Florence, 1501

**A/N: (Feel Free to Skip my useless rambling) **Nice to see you all again! I got this up on time! Woohoo! I must warn you that for this part of the story, this subject matter is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I'm an artist, and my parents are art-buffs, and so I grew up practically marinated in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci and the Renaissance. So I hope I don't bore you with being overzealous with description and being too excited about this plotline that I've got going. Anyway, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to drop me a review :)

* * *

><p>21<p>

**Florence, 1501**

The Doctor pulled the Ponds inside the TARDIS. Amy folded her arms, Rory stood there awkwardly, and the TARDIS hummed as the Doctor paced and rambled to himself incoherently, smacking his forehead every once in a while and fiddling with his sonic. Finally, he turned to the Ponds, walking toward them and mumbling not really to them, still to himself, but in their general direction.

"Why in the Universe would there be a Temporal Relocation lock on the Mona Lisa, what on earth would somebody-" He paused, "But that's ridiculous, why would somebody want to imprison her? I mean… I suppose that could be the whole mystery of the painting, but really, a painting, of all things to choose for a maximum security prison, a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci?"

"Doctor!" Amy interrupted, finally having lost patience with him, "What is going on? She asked slowly, catching him by the collar of his shirt as he walked past them.

The Doctor turned to them, "Well if we don't act now there could be an alien let loose on the streets of Paris, again. I've no idea how much time we have, but I suppose if The Old Girl cooperates we have all the time in the Universe. What I'd like to know is why anybody would choose the Mona Lisa to imprison a dangerous alien! And who would-" He blinked, "But then again, the lock is older than the painting, meaning that the lock was made on the painting, before the painting existed… or was finished."

Amy blinked, "You're not making any sense."

The Doctor thought for a moment and then his eyes widened in realization and he began to hop slightly in place, "That's…that's…!" He giggled slightly, "That's brilliant!" He turned to Rory and Amy again, getting up close in their faces and looking at them intently with a mad grin on his face, "The lock wasn't made for the painting, the painting was made for the lock!" He whirled on his heel, not bothering to explain the significance of his epiphany, running over to pull levers and bang on buttons. The TARDIS roared to life as the Doctor's mad laughing reverberated over the vast walls, "Amy, Rory, I think it's time I paid a visit to Leonardo Da Vinci!" He leaned around the console, looking at them with eyes that shone with excitement, hair mussed, and a face that was a bit rosy, "I think he's having a bit of trouble with some aliens." He pulled the flight lever, and the TARDIS gave a lurch as it blasted into the Time Vortex.

Amy and Rory grabbed onto bits of the TARDIS for support as the Doctor flew about, flying the careening ship to her destination. It seemed the TARDIS had no qualms about where they were going, she was thrumming happily under their feet as they banged about through the Vortex. At a calm point within the flight, the Doctor pushed aside a strand of bang that had fallen into his eyes and leaned against the console, thinking. Would this be the day he'd see Brooke again? She'd mentioned helping Da Vinci out with some aliens… which meant that this, for her, wouldn't be too much later along in their time-line than Paris had been. It would be interesting. She probably still knew so much more about him than he did, she probably still had many, many secrets. But at least now, the Doctor knew who River was, beings as Brooke probably had known that from the get-go.

They landed with a great thump, the wheezing sound of the brakes filling their ears as She settled Herself. The Doctor checked the time meter and then looked absolutely chuffed. She'd cooperated this time. They were in Florence, Italy, in 1501, at the height of the Renaissance, the Enlightenment. Michelangelo had not yet undertaken the project to paint the Sistine Chapel and was currently working on David, but Leonardo Da Vinci was in his prime, creating all sorts of new inventions that were ahead of his time, making discoveries about physics, and painting the mysterious Mona Lisa. Cesare Borgia had already returned triumphantly to Rome, and a Portuguese Explorer discovered the Ascension Island. Ismail I was being named the Shah of Afghanistan, creating a new dynasty, and Arthur would marry Catherine of Aragon. So many things happening every year, and he could see all of them, if he wished. The Doctor threw open the door of the TARDIS with a grin.

They'd landed in the middle of a busy, cobbled street. People passed by them as if a big, blue, Police Box was completely normal. Carriages drawn by colossal horses carried cabbages and carrots and noblemen to market. Scarlet-clad soldiers stood on either end of a bridge that spanned a sparkling river. Even this river bubbled and rushed along, seeming to have the same ideals of growth and learning and newness that the Renaissance was bringing about as the water swept away on to forge an altogether new and ancient path. Gondolas and fishing boats bobbed up and down with the flow. Above them, strung between the buildings, bright flags and laundry dangled. Pigeons made their perches in these colorful lines, and every once in a while a Tabby could be seen slinking across them. The buildings were tall and stacked and close together, but the architecture of the white and jasper-like stone was magnificent. Arches sprang from every corner, reaching out like alabaster arms to connect structure with structure, making paths and footways on the gleaming tile roofs. Looking up even further, the sun was high and mild in the blue Italian sky, shining light down on the verdant hills that rolled all around the city like a green sea. These hills were occasionally broken up with a house or vineyard or two, and a large, dirt road wound its way southward, to Rome. The one thing that was the most noticeable about the skyline of Florence, that one could see no matter where one was in the city, was the tall, crimson dome that jutted out above all the buildings. Half of it was finished, shining in the sun, and the other half was spidery scaffolding as ant-like workers crawled about, creating what would be Brunelleschi's Dome. The city was busy, swarming with life and ideas and color, filled with brilliant artists and scholars and corrupt politicians, the birthplace of invention and art. So it was, the time-travelers' first impression of the greatest city of the Renaissance.

Somewhere in this hub of creativity and enlightenment, Leonardo Da Vinci was painting what some would argue his greatest and most enigmatic work, and they were here to find him. The Doctor walked down the street, calling behind him,

"Come along, Ponds! We've got an artist to find!"

He continued down the street before stopping by a small art dealer, figuring he'd probably be connected, at least somewhat, with the De Medici's and Leonardo. He leaned on the counter as an old, balding, hook-nosed man walked up to him.

"What can I do for you, Signore? Want to buy a painting?" His voice was high-pitched, nasaly, and altogether annoying.

The Doctor put his hand up, saying, "Actually no, I'm the Doctor-just the Doctor- I was wondering if you knew where to find Signore Da Vinci, he's working on a project for me."

The man's eyes widened, "_The_ Signore Da Vinci? The greatest man of Florence?" The Doctor nodded, and the man rubbed his hands together nervously, licking his lips, "Nobody knows, Signore. Signore Da Vinci disappeared not two months ago and nobody's heard from him since." He leaned forward, "Some say he's gone to the Americas to search for the Fountain of Youth so he can live forever and create. I don't believe those rumors, though…I think he got caught by the Church, y'know, for disturbing the dead and whatnot."

Amy leaned forward on the table, "Can you tell us where his studio is?"

The man looked at her, blinking at her state of dress, or rather, by Florentine standards, lack thereof, and opened his mouth, shut it, and then nodded. "West side of Florence, street of the artists, under the great white arch… third house on the left, top floor. I relay messages there sometimes for commissions. He never takes them, though, to busy working on that ridiculous walking-on-water contraption of his, when he was there."

The Doctor nodded, "Thank you." He then turned and pulled the Ponds after them. Amy caught up with his quick, long strides, Rory following soon after.

Rory looked at them, "How on earth are we supposed to find Leonardo Da Vinci, he could be anywhere in Italy?"

"And where did he go?" Amy blinked, "I don't remember anything about him disappearing."

The Doctor trudged on, "That's because this is 1501, Amy, 1501. This is the year he's painting the Mona Lisa, we never remember the years artists paint, only when they begin or finish. Why, anything could happen this year and it wouldn't be recorded because nobody would think to."

"So literally…anything could be happening to him at this point?"

"Anything."


	23. Studios and Prisons

**A/N: ****(Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Another update! Yay! I have nothing else to say other than excuse my random beginning. My brain was being weird. Anyway, enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review.

22

**Studios and Prisons**

A chicken sat in the middle of the road, blinking in the waning light of early Florentine evening and watching the humans go about their business. It was quite content to be in the way of practically everybody, but instead of kicking it aside, most people just wandered on past in a rush, not bothering to. Good old Florence, the place where people were too busy creating masterpieces and selling merchandise to kick a chicken.

Except when the Doctor was in town.

Of all the languages he spoke, he didn't speak chicken, so he didn't understand the bird's cry of alarm as he pretty much plowed on through the street with the Ponds in tow. The chicken was quite peeved to be removed from his comfortable stone roost that she'd been sitting on for the past hour undisturbed. It made its annoyance known by clucking madly and running about, just barely dodging Amy and Rory, a cart, and two horses. But, of course, there were more important things to think about than a chicken in distress.

Leonardo Da Vinci, in distress, for instance, or fish fingers and custard, or that broken chameleon circuit that the Doctor had been meaning to fix for the past eight hundred or so years. But… definitely Leonardo Da Vinci, if anything. He'd never met the bloke, so the Doctor was quite excited about this trip. What could be better than Da Vinci and Aliens and possibly a jailbreak? This was all too good to be true! He might even get to watch the Mona Lisa be painted before his very eyes! Ah yes, must more interesting than that blasted chicken. He could still hear the clucking above the hubbub of the street!

Granted, this wasn't a very busy street. As most streets, the washing hung from the dusty roofs, and windows with tiny, diamond windowpanes jutted out into the air, opening the dark, musty rooms to the fragrance, or rather…stink, of a Renaissance alley. The street wasn't very wide, maybe two people could stand shoulder to shoulder. The cobblestone was treacherous, with potholes filled with waste that could easily turn an ankle. Florence, apparently, still had quite a bit of remodeling to do.

"Doctor-" Amy interrupted his thoughts as they walked, "Explain." She called, a little out of breath at keeping up with his fast pace in this confined space.

"Yeah… how can the Mona Lisa be a-" Rory couldn't think of the device name, so he simply settled for, "Prison?"

The Doctor waved them off in dismissal, "A Temporal Time Lock is basically like a TARDIS. Bigger on the inside than the outside. It's made to trap a specific entity inside of it. A TTL bends time energy, creating a time bubble inside time which moves time at an extremely slow ra-"

"Like the magnifying glass thing in that hospital that I got trapped in, yeah?" Amy butted in.

The Doctor nodded as he continued to walk, his hair flapping in the wind, "Exactly like that. But that's only half of it. To be a proper prison, it needs to be a trap, and to be a trap…well… it needs to be able to hold a person inside of it. Mirrors, for instance, make very good TTLs, I've used them before, actually-" He blinked as the memories of the Family of Blood flashed through his mind, and then shook his head, "It's kind of like a… second body." He gestured dramatically, "But it only works if the likeness is good enough. A child's drawing, for instance, normally wouldn't work. A mirror or a photograph, on the other hand, is the best bet. If the likeness isn't good enough it can't sustain the consciousness for very long." He thought again, "Of course… that would make sense as to why it's getting out…"

Amy blinked, "What?"

"Well, the Mona Lisa has degraded over time, hasn't it?"

"Oh…"

"Exactly. Which is not good, very not good." He frowned, and then brightened, "The Egyptian Pharaoh's learned the trick from their 'gods'." He put air quotes around the word, half laughing, "That's where all the legends of the souls leaving the body and the idea of mummification and the masks that have to look exactly like them came from."

Amy felt her skin crawl, "Wait…they actually trapped their dead king's soul inside the…the mummy?"

The Doctor shrugged, "You could call it that. The mind, they trapped the mind, inside those masks right before the Pharaoh died. I saw a ceremony myself, quite interesting, the rest of that mummification is just superstition for show." He turned to face them, walking backwards, "One of their gods, you know, nobody knows what type of animal he's supposed to represent." He chuckled.

"You mean that their gods were actually- like- aliens… like… from outer space?" Rory looked at him oddly, gesturing in a confused manner.

The Doctor giggled, "It's brilliant, isn't it? That's where they learned all of that from."

"So you think that the…the Mona Lisa is an alien or something?" Amy asked, following the Doctor around a corner.

"-She looks human."

"-No, she looks Time Lord." The Doctor corrected offhandedly before replying, "Yes and no. They're kind of like Slitheens. That's why the Egyptian gods are always therianthropic- part human, part animal. These aliens look human on the outside, but they're not."

"Like you." Amy replied.

The Doctor shrugged, "Eh, yeah."

They walked down a few more alleyways, the sun setting to set the sooty, greyish stone of the Florentine buildings alight into a blazing rose hue. They'd gotten there fairly late of the day, and the TARDIS were quite a ways off, and the Ponds had a small worry in the back of their heads about accommodations. They really didn't know that much about the taverns or whatever-you-called-them of the Renaissance, but they probably weren't much better than the medieval ones, and those were notorious for being absolutely ghastly. Amy thought she'd probably remind the Doctor soon, seeing as he was bound to forget about sleep, being a Time Lord.

"So, where exactly are we going to stay tonight?" Amy interrupted the Doctor's deep thoughts again.

He brushed off his momentary annoyance with humans in time to reply in a civil manner, "Oh, probably at one of the local inns… unless we can stay at the house of somebody or in Leonardo's studio."

"Ooh. Can we do that?" Her excitement at staying in the greatest renaissance artist's studio was…well… very obvious as her tone raised a bit and she grinned widely at him, her eyes almost pleading.

"It's possible. But wouldn't you much rather stay at the home of Vassare D'Borgia?" The Doctor replied, saying the name with that same ridiculous Italian accent.

Amy's face went blank as she crossed her arms, "I doubt that more famous and important and cooler than Da Vinci. I mean- the studio, Rory!" She said, glancing back at her husband for support.

Rory blinked and then nodded quickly, "Yeah…the-the studio! Yay!"

Amy rolled her eyes at him, with a sarcastic look that said, thanks, stupidface, before turning back to the Doctor, "Please?"

The Doctor chuckled, "I said it's possible, Pond. What if there are giant man-eating aliens there with big, pointy teeth?"

"All the better!" Amy replied, grinning.

Finally, they turned down another street that widened a bit, releasing the suffocating atmosphere. It was the street of the artists, with all sorts of studios and shops that blazed with light as the sky darkened. Most all of them were just now closing down for the night, leaving only a few open. In these windows hung strange assortments of brightly colored powders and strange, fluffy brushes. Jars of oil and egg yolks waited to be married to the powders and mixed into stunning shades of vermillion, aquamarine, and plum. The strange odor of drying paintings and leather work aprons wafted over, mixing with the putrid smell of animal fat and oil and candlewax that lit the artists' studios. The windows paved the street with carpets of warm light, and a few evening shoppers milled about. Some were other artists, selecting the chalky powders and oils, and others were aristocrat patrons that were either picking up commissions or giving them. Had the Doctor not been in such a rush, he would've noticed the shape shifting in the shadows, following them along the dim street, listening to every word.


	24. Chase

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **So I give you all permission to kill me, as this wasn't "technically" up on time. I may be scaling back the frequency of posts because I fear that it's cutting into the quality of writing, and I want to give you guys the very best. I'm also afraid that this fic is getting ridiculously long, what do you all think? Unfortunately, the main story arc still has a ways to go yet. :/ Anyway, read and enjoy, feedback would be appreciated!

* * *

><p>23<p>

**Chase**

The moon was rising over Florence as the Doctor and his companions tried the door to Leonardo Da Vinci's studio. The Doctor huffed as he whipped out his sonic, the familiar whirring sound filling the air as he unlocked the door. The shadow that nobody had noticed earlier was moving closer now, and a strange, gurgling sound emitted from it. It was a bit like a laugh, a bit like a purr, and a bit like a predatory growl.

Amy whirled, her breath sending out puffs of steam in the cool night air, "Did you hear that?"

The Doctor blinked, "Hear what?"

"That…that purr." She frowned, squinting out into the darkness of the barely lit street.

The Doctor held up his screwdriver, "This, possibly?"

Amy hit him, "No, stupid. It was like a…a cat."

"Maybe it was a cat?" Rory offered unhelpfully.

Amy huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at both of them before gesturing impatiently for the Doctor to open the door. They walked into the studio, the Doctor's eyes flitting around as he took in the state of the studio. It almost completely ransacked, with paintings scattered on the floor, powders and journals and notebooks. The curtains on the wall were rent apart. The chest that had once rested in the corner had been tossed aside, torn open, and searched through. Feathers from pillows dusted the floor, and whatever the master artist had been working on seemed to have been torn straight off the easel. Mobils and inventions were in pieces and tatters. There were what looked like claw or knife marks and scuff marks that streaked the wood floor. One of the windowpanes was shattered. The Doctor swallowed, how could no one have heard this? Or maybe… maybe they just didn't speak of it?

"Looks like there was a struggle…" Rory said, picking up one of the journals and leafing through it.

The Doctor nodded, "The alien was powerful…very dangerous. Whatever was here was big, and scary, and very not good."

"So something came in here and just… Kidnapped Leonardo Da Vinci?" Amy whispered, treading carefully over a few torn pages of what looked like invention plans that were fluttering in the breeze from the broken window.

The Doctor looked around, surveying the place, wondering what type of alien would have the power and the claws and the will to do such a thing. What could be the motivation? "That's what it looks like, anyway."

That growl again. Except louder. And more dangerous. And much, much more evil sounding.

A puff of air.

Footsteps.

Amy stiffened. Rory looked around, and the Doctor stopped dead in his tracks. Their hearts beat in their chests as they heard those footsteps coming up the stairs. Heavy, clawed footsteps. Amy's eyes closed, her breathing coming quick and hard, the blood rushing to her extremities, ready to run.

"Amy, Rory…" The Doctor whispered.

"What?"

"I don't think it's left."

A chill sped up and down Amy's spine as she spared a glance behind her, her eyes wide.

Had that shadow just moved?

Her heart leapt up in her throat when she saw it. A terrible, twisted face. Human. Human in form. But that smile…

That terrible, awful, malicious, devious curl of the lips. The eyes were glinting with pleasure as it stepped toward her, extending its hands out from it like a swan in dive. The metallic click, weapons ejecting from the Renaissance sleeve. Wicked knives they were, that glinted cruelly in the moonlight.

"Doctor!"

"Run!"

The creature cocked its head to one side as Amy and Rory and the Doctor whirled. The only way out of the studio was the door, and that was blocked by the man.

"Doctor…" Amy repeated, "Run where?"

"Just… gah!" He let out a frustrated noise, backing up as the man took another step towards them. His whole body was tensed like a lion stalking its prey, that demented smile still there.

It grinned at them, "Going somewhere?"

"Actually, yes, late for tea with Victoria, that's bad. The woman's very punctual… Let's go!" The Doctor sonicked it, trying to find the correct frequency, it wasn't doing anything. The man simply laughed through gritted teeth, staring at them unblinkingly. His eyes were so empty…

Rory rolled his eyes, "Great, great… right. Of all the times I don't have my sword!" He looked around frantically. His eye spied a candlestick, and he picked it up, tossing it from one hand to the other. "Right, well… not what I'd like…"

The creature cocked its head again, looking at him, a challenging glint in his eye, "You think you can fight me?"

A smile tugged at the corners of Rory's mouth, and the Doctor backed up cautiously, Amy with him. "Rory…" She said warningly.

"Well, you're pretty, you know… slo-"

Before he even knew what was happening, it was on him, blades slashing down ferociously at his throat. Rory parried, grateful for his knowledge as a centurion. Even with a candlestick, he still might be able to give them some time. He kicked the man back, smacking it in the head with a metallic clang.

"Run!" Rory yelled after them.

It took a split second of Rory's eyes meeting the Doctor for them both to mutually realize that they were there to protect Amy before they both snapped into action again, the Doctor grabbing Amy's hand and dragging her out the door and Rory following quickly after, giving the creature another good whack to the head.

It roared and followed, hot on their heels as they careened down the streets. Rory could practically feel him, it, whatever it was, breathing down his neck. His heart was beating in his ears as his feet pounded over the streets. The Doctor ducked down an alleyway, Amy following, Rory following her. It was a peculiar gait behind them, as if the creature was now on all fours.

The night swirled around the Doctor, he could barely see. If he could have, he would've noticed that they were headed straight for the edge of the raised street. He skidded to a halt, his feet just barely touching the edge as he stared down into the blackened street below him. Damn Florence! Why did they have to have such a convoluted system of getting about? He was frantically plotting their next move when Amy bumped into him, and Rory stopped short just before bumping into her.

The creature walked up to them, catching his breath, pacing like a cat that had cornered its prey.

"What do we do now, Doctor?" Amy whispered, swallowing.

The Doctor glanced back behind them, seeing something that may possibly be there way out, even if it was probably fifteen to thirty feet down, "Amy, do you trust me?" He held out his hand to her.

She glanced back at him, "…always…" Amy took his hand and then Rory's, looking back as the man tensed again, preparing to pounce, blades glistening.

"Then jump."


	25. The Last Centurion Fights

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling)** Gosh, feels like forever since I've seen you all (even though it's only been a week)!As I'm sure you guys have figured out by now, I've cut down the posting schedule to once a week. Which I'm much happier with because it gives me more time to edit. I'm quite happy with this chapter. Anyway, hope you guys don't mind too much, but I want to make sure I'm not giving you crap. Another action-y chapter! Have fun and enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review! :)

* * *

><p>24<p>

**The Last Centurion Fights**

All it took was a step off the edge, and Amy Pond, The Doctor, and Rory were falling through the black with the strangled roar of a creature behind them. The ground rushed up to them, Amy's heart was in her throat. She expected to hit the pavement with a sickening crunch, but instead, they sunk into a haystack. Her heart was still beating wildly as her mind registered that they were all okay. She groped around for Rory's hand and then the Doctor's.

"How did you know it was there?"

She heard a bit of a chuckle in the dark, "Lucky guess." But there was another sound coming from him. The Doctor was…_sniffing._

He could smell something. He could definitely smell something. His superior Time-Lord senses were picking up a metallic, bitter smell. Salty -blood? Blood!

"Is everyone okay?" He asked suddenly in a very serious tone.

Amy blinked, "Yeah-why?"

Rory just sneezed, "I'm fine."

The Doctor craned his neck, narrowing his eyes, trying to see in the darkness as the creature paced above them on the ledge. The smell was getting stronger to the left. He stood up in the hay, gingerly throwing one gangly leg over the side of the haystack and crawling out. "C'mon. No sense in staying around here, anyway. It's bound to find a way down." He whispered.

Amy and Rory nodded, they clambered out of the hay and followed him down the darkened street. The Doctor ran the previous events through his mind. Could the creature have attacked someonebefore it chased them? Come to think of it, it had had some sort of…bloody smell on it as well. He frowned, trying to think of where it could possibly be coming from. Hopefully it wasn't a villager. That would make things quite…complicated. They heard a thump above them, and the hair on the back of his neck rose. Was it following them from above?

He glanced up just in time to see a shadow move across the roof of one building.

"Rory, Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't look up." He whispered to them, continuing to creep along the street. He kept his head up so his peripheral vision could spot movement on the rooftops as he followed the smell. Out of the corner of his eye, there was another shape on the left.

Had that shadow by the powder shop just moved?

His pace quickened as he took long strides. He needed to get Rory and Amy somewhere safe, but the trouble was, he had no idea where _was_ safe. How long had these creatures been in Florence? Why didn't the townspeople speak of them? Or… were they forbade to? They had to know they existed, they were too dangerous, too loud. Then again, they did look human, until you noticed that smile.

What was with that smile, anyway? It was so… strangely amused. Like the creature knew something he didn't. He didn't like that feeling. He was used to being the cleverest person in the room (except when River was there, which was irritating). So what was going on? When had these creatures come, and from where? What were they after? What had they to do with Leonardo? He was pretty sure that they had been the ones to ransack the studio, but what were they looking for?

The scent of blood became infinitely stronger. The Doctor knelt down. He touched his fingers to the stone of the street, feeling the warm wetness cover them. It was dark, and it was definitely blood. And if it was still warm… it was recent.

"Doctor, what is going on? What was that?" Rory exclaimed when he could bear the silence no more.

The Doctor didn't even look at him. He kept his eyes focused on the stain the blood had left on his fore and middle fingers. "I don't know. But I intend to find out." It wasn't often that he didn't recognize an alien, and when he didn't- well – that was disturbing. He stood quickly, walking back down the street in long strides. He heard the tiles on the roof just behind them shift, clattering just a little. Footsteps pounded down the alleyway behind them. Amy whirled, straining to see in the dark, but there was nothing. Only darkness. She continued peering back down the street, trying to catch any movement until the Doctor called,

"Come along, Pond!"

She frowned, looking around once more before turning and following them. They were being watched. No, it was more than that. More in the way the creatures followed them, crept along, skulking in the shadows. Once more, in the corner of her eye, she caught the glance of moonlight across a knife. She heard that strange growling noise, low, like a purr. More footsteps, stalking them closer and closer. No, these creatures had a darker intent than just spying on them. They were hunting them.

The Doctor followed the trail of blood to a stack of chickens. He walked around it in puzzlement, whipping out his sonic. It whirred as he pointed it around the boxes with a frown on his face, but it was Rory who held out his hand and shushed him.

"Wait, I hear something."

The Doctor blinked and turned off his sonic. They listened in silence, straining to hear what Rory had. Their breath came in clouds as they looked at each other in the dark. Tensed. Until they heard it.

A sniffle, ragged breathing. The Doctor moved aside some of the boxes and looked down, blinking when he saw a figure huddled on the ground, taking deep, pained breaths. He stepped in, picking his way over the boxes and kneeled down on the pavement.

"Are you hurt?"

The person glanced up, eyes wide. The Doctor's mouth fell open. That was a very familiar set of eyes.

"Brooke?"

She wasn't much changed from the last time he'd seen her. Her hair was frazzled and she had both hands wrapped around a leg, pressing down hard on it.

"D-" She swallowed painfully, "Doctor? What are you doing here?"

He chuckled awkwardly, "Well… investigating the Mona Lisa, actually, did you know Da Vinci had gone missing?"

"Been…investigating that-" She whispered through gritted teeth. He looked down at her, suddenly realizing as he saw her hands and leg that were stained darkly with her own blood.

"Oh…ah! Rory!" He hissed. As the nurse scrambled over the boxes to have a look at her leg, the Doctor refocused his attention of Brooke, "How'd you get hurt?"

"Bloody creature- ow!" She winced as Rory pressed down harder on the wound to stem the bleeding, "Stabbed me. They're hunting me, I think." She bit her lip.

"Why? I mean, they were after us a minute ago-" Amy said, crossing her arms as knelt in the pile of boxes.

"-What?" Brooke exclaimed breathlessly, "Then you have to go. They'll have followed you-" She sucked in a breath as Rory tied a strip of his shirt sleeve around her leg.

"Brooke," The Doctor said urgently, "Why are they hunting you?"

There came a growl from the left, and Brooke grabbed the Doctor's arm, leaving crimson fingerprints on his tweed jacket, "You have to go, you're unarmed, they'll kill you-" Her eyes were wide and pleading as she looked at him, "Go! Seriously!"

A couple cans rattled and crashed in the alleyway, more footsteps. The Doctor shook his head, "I'm not leaving you." He hadn't the faintest clue how they'd defend Brooke against a horde of knife-wielding, malevolent aliens, but he had to try.

Rory looked around. He could see dusky shapes skulking, inching closer. Some were on all fours. Others stood stooped. Their knives glinted. On some, he could see their faces. He could see that smile. The smile of cat, right before it pounces. Rory hadn't the candlestick or his sword, but he could still fight them, somehow. He was the Last Centurion. He'd defended the Pandorica for 2000 years, what was five minutes? He turned to Brooke, "I need your gun."

Brooke blinked, "It's almost out-"

"-_give me your gun!_" He repeated lowly.

She handed it over to him reluctantly, and Rory checked the clip. There were only a few bullets left, but he would make use of them. He looked around, trying to see what else he could use for a weapon. His eye spotted a broom. Not the best, but hey, he had fought a vampire with one once, right? He grabbed it, looking at the Doctor, "You pick her up, you take Amy and Brooke, and you get out of here. The left alley isn't blocked yet." He glanced back behind them, assessing the situation. They were getting closer. Four- maybe five. Two on the roof, one behind that stack of boxes, two in the in the alley, moving fast.

The Doctor nodded, trying to ignore Brooke's pained whimper as he scooped her up. Rory twirled the broom stick and aimed the gun at one of the shadows, waiting for them to make the first move. He couldn't afford to miss. "Go!"

The Doctor went lickety-split down the alleyway, dragging Amy after him as Rory centered himself. The shadow leapt, and he swung the broomstick, knocking it to the ground. He fired once into its heart. Whirling, he elbowed another creature in the head and shot it. Two down, three more to go. His heart pounded in time to that mantra. His sharp ears picked up the scuttle of feet on rooftop tile, and he turned just in time to see another pounce on him from the roof, smothering him. Slashing at his throat. The smile was gone, replaced with a snarl.

"Rory!"

He barely registered Amy's voice screaming at him. Quick as he could, he jabbed his forearm into the creature's throat, kicking a second out of the way while his other arm groped in the darkness for the gun. It'd somehow gotten lost. He breathed a sigh of relief as his fingers felt the press of cool, calculated metal. He grabbed it and cracked it into the alien's skull with lethal force. Its eyes rolled back in its head. Then, it slumped forward, dead, on top of him. Rory kicked it off. He didn't have time to look back and see if The Doctor, Amy, and Brooke had gotten out. The other two were still a threat, and more could be on their way. He stopped thinking. The only thing he cared about was becoming a wall between his friends and wife, and the aliens that threatened them.

Rory took a deep breath. The other two prowled about him, chilled smiles spread on their faces, brandishing their serrated weapons. The moment's relief gave him time to check his clip. He had one bullet left. He'd better save that for a last resort.

"Ready to die, human?" Hissed one of them with a dark laugh.

Rory glared at it, "I don't think so."

It surged forward. Rory blocked its first advance with the broomstick, but that wasn't going to last long. The other one quickly joined its comrade, and Rory found himself in a delicate dance between two blades. One swung over his head. He ducked, and then jumped, barely clearing the other blade as it swept at his legs. He whacked the first creature in the head with his gun, whirled and punched the second in the face, and then turned back and swiftly dislocated the first's knee with one kick. With that one down, he focused his attention on the second, slamming it up against the wall ferociously. It laughed in his face, even with both his arms pinned. Rory simply smiled coldly back, taking the knife from its hand, and twisting it into its stomach.

He turned to the one with the dislocated knee, and stood in front of it. It simply looked up at him, the smile still plastered on its face, eyes wild and amused, unafraid.

"We will have Florence. We will have Italy. We will have your planet, and then- we will kill you." It began to laugh, that same sick laugh that he'd been hearing all night. Frankly, Rory was tired of that laugh. He aimed the gun, and shot.

Finally, out of breath, with a nick in his arm, probably a twisted ankle, and a trickle of sweat running down the side of his face, the Last Centurion turned and limped down the alleyway. It wasn't long before he could see the outlines of the Doctor and Brooke, sitting on another haystack. Where was Amy? He immediately sped up to find out, and as he rounded the corner. He was socked in the face.

"Oh my god!" Came the surprised squeal. Amy reached forward and hugged him as he held his nose, "Sorry! I thought you were one of those things!"

Rory just groaned and sat back down, "Well, they're gone, for now."

"There'll be more." Brooke replied quietly, standing up and limping over to them, much to the Doctor's chagrin.

"Why were they after you?" Amy asked.

Brooke accepted her gun back from Rory and holstered it, running a hand through her brown curls, "I've been in their hair for the past week, investigating the disappearance of Leonardo."

"Oh, we're on a first name basis, are we? Cool." The Doctor grinned.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "_Anyway_. He's being held at the Borgia castle east from here, from what I could gather. No idea what they want him for."

Rory frowned, "Right before I shot one of them, he said something about taking over Earth…"

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively, "Oh, that's usually the plan. To the Borgia castle it is!"


	26. Storming the Keep, Quietly

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **One of the shorter ones, my muse and inner editor were against me this week. They decided to gang up on me, which was totally unfair. *huffs* Anyway, here we go with rescuing Leonardo! Enjoy and Review!

25

**Storming the Keep (Quietly)**

"Doctor, I can't wear this." Amy said, eyes bereft of any semblance of like as she stared down at the blue, high necked, dress the Doctor had given her to wear. It was truly an interesting sight, seeing the kiss-o-gram in such a strange outfit. She was accustomed to short skirts and police outfits and any costume she liked. But this was so different. It was a Renaissance ball gown, (god knows where'd he'd gotten that!). She'd only been in it for all of five minutes and already felt incredibly uncomfortable wearing it.

The Doctor hadn't even bothered to change into something even remotely Renaissance. He was in a black suit, with streaming coattails, a black bowtie was tied around his throat, and he had donned a freshly polished pair of shoes. He looked fantastic, just not for the occasion.

"Oh, don't worry, Pond. Just follow my lead." He replied easily. They were going to a Masque ball that was being held at the Borgia Castle. While in, they were supposed to find out the location of Leonardo Da Vinci, hopefully find out why he was there, and preferably get him out. While they were infiltrating the castle from the inside, Rory and Brooke would be paving a way out from the outside. If everything went off without a hitch (and it never did), they'd be able to get Leonardo, protect him from whatever alien creatures were after him, find out what they were after, possibly eliminate said aliens, and then Leonardo could live and paint and invent in peace for the rest of his long life.

Amy was probably supposed to be a peacock. Her dress was a shimmery royal blue, with threads of gold and silver woven throughout the fabric to make it shine and glow. Her mask was a deep indigo, with swirls of spring green and gold-leaf feathers placed on the left outer rim to accent it.

The Doctor, on the other hand, just looked like an awkward penguin. He'd been wise enough to forgo the top hat, settling for simply slicking back his hair with a fair amount of gel. His bangs rose to new heights, and his eyes were twinkling with amusement as he walked down the street up to the castle entrance.

A large, pantalooned guard stopped him, "Halt, nobody's allowed in."

"Ah, but we're here for the party." The Doctor said smoothly, looking up at the guard with a bright smile. He flashed his psychic paper, and the guard took it.

His eyes widened and he bowed lowly, "I'm sorry, Your Holiness, go right ahead."

As they passed into the atrium, Amy chuckled and raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, "Your Holiness, hm?"

"The Bishop of Gallifrey," the Doctor said with a smirk, "And her Highness the Duchess of Edinburgh." He said, gestured theatrically to Amy.

Amy laughed, "Ooh, I'm a duchess, am I now? Making up stories, are we Doctor?"

"Always." The Doctor replied with a smirk. They walked down the steps into the bustling Masque Ball, a figurehead of Renaissance Florentine Court. As usual, it was bursting with color. The court was the height of fashion these days, with the womens' dresses spinning about the room like taffeta and silk teacups, and the mens' doublets and pantaloons and other such items of clothing embroidered beyond what was sane, so that they practically glowed in the light.

Amy whispered to him, "Now don't start dancing and give yourself away."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Oh please, I'm a wonderful dancer." He pretended to be hurt.

Amy rolled her eyes, "You wish."

"I have very good rhythm."

"A-rhythm, more like."

The Doctor waved her insult off, making a beeline for the punch bowl, "Mingle, Pond. We need to find out where they're keeping Da Vinci."

"Mingle." Amy breathed to herself, nodding. How did one mingle at a Masque?

"Why, hello, don't think I've seen you before!" Came the surprised comment from a very irritating female voice.

Amy turned to see a rather large woman grinning at her, "Oh, hello! Ah- I'm sorry, I don't think I've…seen you before… either." She cringed a bit. This was worse than Mel's parties back home.

The woman waved it off, "Ah, it's fine. I didn't expect you to. And you are?"

"Um… Duchess Amelia Pond."

"Duchess? Ooh! How goes the Duchy?"

"The Duchy goes…well." She blinked, god what was she supposed to say? "Um… is there a loo around her somewhere?" Where was the Doctor when she needed a rescue?

She was spared from the odd looks the woman was giving her when the Doctor took her arm, nodded politely to the woman, and then pulled Amy back towards the table, muttering, "Don't talk to her, that's the lesser duchess of Spain, people don't like her…"

"Oh." Amy blinked, "Have you found anything on Leonardo?"

"Nope, shall we go exploring?" He grinned manically.

"Is that a good idea?"

The Doctor chuckled, straightening his bowtie with one hand and then running his fingers through his hair, "Probably not, but it's a fun one. Always substitute a fun idea if you've run out of good ones, I always say!"

They crept along the hall, ducking into curtains and behind suits of armor whenever a guard or courtier passed. Amy's fingers brushed along the paneled wall. The halls were filled with golden, flickering light from the candles above. The glow played across their skin, wound its way into their hair, weaving halos with clever fingers as it went.

The wood floors were covered with rich, soft material as they walked. It muffled their footsteps. They kept closely to the wall, making no noise with which to alert anyone in the nearby vicinity. Hopefully they'd make it around the castle undisturbed. They wound through it, passing libraries and baths and bedrooms and dining halls, kitchens and museums and sitting rooms until finally the hall tapered off into a door. It was locked. Out of all the rooms in the castle, this one locked from the outside.

The Doctor sonicked it, and in they went.


	27. Storming the Keep, Unquietly

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Hello again, all my lovely readers! A week feels like far too long, I must admit, I start to miss you all by Wednesday! :( Ah, the joys of a hectic schedule. Why is it that Summers are usually more busy than schoolyears? ANYWAY, outlines are wonderful things, I just thought I'd let you all know that, especially when it comes to writing action sequences... which I'm rubbish at. Grab a cup of tea, have fun reading, and don't forget to let me know how I did. I always appreciate those reviews! :)

* * *

><p>26<p>

**Storming the Keep (Unquietly)**

Rory and Brooke were hidden in the bushes in front of the castle long after the Doctor and Amy had already gone in. Right now, they were looking around, trying to decide on the best course of action to get in. While Amy and the Doctor would be finding Leonardo, they'd be finding the best way to get them all out. Rory had already suggested scaling the wall, but Brooke was injured, that wouldn't work too well.

"There has to be another way in," Brooke mumbled, staring up at the castle, "there always is."

Rory pursed his lips, glowering up at the wall like it was sentient and purposely in his way, "Like what?"

"Well I could name several that had to do with explosives."

He shook his head, laughing quietly, "Can we try not to alert the entire castle to the fact that we're here? I don't think that would be a good idea considering we have one bullet, no sword, and you're injured"

"Oh, it's not a good idea, but it's less boring." She winked at him and stepped over the bushes, keeping her head low. The sun was quickly setting, and soon they'd have a thick blanket of darkness to cover them.

Rory rolled his eyes, following her out onto the green, sticking close to wall. Sometimes Brooke reminded him far too much of River. Brooke was refusing to let herself limp, though from her taught, drawn form, he suspected she was in far much more pain than she was letting on.

Finally, Brooke spotted a grate in the side of the castle, a drain. "Rory, look- we can get in through here."

Rory blinked, "We've no idea where it goes- and it's barely big enough to crawl in." It was hardly two feet tall, three feet across… if they were going to try and make it through, this would be interesting.

She grinned, "Well, then it's a good thing neither of us are claustrophobic."

He also didn't mention that it probably wasn't good for her leg for her to be crawling through sewage, mud, and rainwater, but that was probably the last thing on Brooke's mind. She was already ripping the grating off. After a few pained tugs, it came off with a squeak. Rory looked around, he hoped nobody had heard that.

"Centurions first," Brooke said, gesturing to the tunnel.

Huffing, he got down on his stomach and crawled army-style into the passage. He recoiled at the smell and the wetness that was seeping in through his clothing. He glanced back as Brooke crawled in after him, closing the grating so as not to rouse suspicion. They continued on in complete darkness, the only sound being of their hands and knees sloshing through an unknown liquid, their quiet breathing, and the occasional scuttle of a rat's paws.

Once, they heard a small squeak, and Rory heard, as well as felt, Brooke take a sharp intake of breath and jump, her head hitting the ceiling.

He glanced back at her, "You okay?"

She released her captive breath and nodded, even though he couldn't see her, "Yeah- just a rat ran over my hand is all… surprised me."

Rory turned back and continued crawling, "Okay…" he could hear her small whimper of 'ow' from hitting her head waft toward him, though.

The tunnel finally turned a corner and Rory could see a flickering golden light streaming in through the end. He breathed a small sigh of relief and glanced back at Brooke, "Almost there."

About ten more feet of crawling through sludge, and he poked his head out into blinding light. He looked around, and his heart jumped into his throat when he was met face to face with a pair of feet. Rory quickly backtracked, bumping into Brooke on the way back in the tunnel.

Brooke blinked, "What's wrong?"

"Sh!" Rory hushed her, "there's a guard right there," he hissed. Brooke's eyes widened with realization and she began to rummage around in her pockets. Rory frowned, "What are you doing?"

"I know I have it here somewhere-ah!" She grinned, pulling a small spray bottle from her pants' pocket. She squeezed past him and stuck her arm out the tunnel. Aiming upward, she spritzed some sort of mist out of the bottle and then crawled back in. She grinned at him impishly, "Hopefully there's only one guard."

Behind her, the guard fell to the floor with a thump and a clatter. Rory looked at first the guard, and then Brooke, and then the bottle she held in her hand, "What the hell is that?"

Brooke laughed quietly, holding up her hand, "Don't go in there yet, give it time to disperse a bit."

"What is it?" He repeated again, raising an eyebrow at her.

She waved it off, "Narcotic perfume. Come on, should be safe now."

"Where on earth did you get narcotic perfume?" Rory squeaked, crawling out with her and standing up, looking down disgustedly at his soaked, reeking clothes.

Brooke flipped her dark-blonde curls and sheathed the perfume bottle safely back in her pocket. "River." She bent down and pulled the guard's rapier from his sheath and tossed it to Rory, shouldering his crossbow and bolts herself. She then, groaning a bit because he was heavy and she was in pain, sat him up so it looked like he'd just fallen asleep on duty. She stood back up and dusted herself off, "He won't remember a thing."

"How long do we have?" He asked her.

"Mm… an hour or so, I think, depends on if somebody tries to wake him or not," she replied, continuing down the hall.

Rory nodded and followed her. They came to an atrium that split off in multiple directions. One tunnel went down, one to the side, and one up. Another guard stood sentry. Rory was about to walk up and knock him out, when Brooke shot her hand out to stop him.

"What, you're going to shoot him?" He whispered lowly.

She shook her head, "Crossbow's too loud," she fished out a knife from her pocket and aimed it, test throwing it before flicking her wrist and watching in satisfaction as it whizzed into the man's neck.

Rory walked over and dragged him to the side, tucking the body behind a few barrels. "Why do you have a crossbow if you don't intend to use it?"

"I like crossbows," she answered.

Rory rolled his eyes. He was about to make a reply when a sound startled both of them so much it caused them to go dead silent, eyes wide. They stood stock still, Brooke facing him, looking over his shoulder.

A growl.

"They're everywhere…" Brooke muttered irately, bending down to load her crossbow.

"What is?" Rory asked, tense.

"Look behind you," she replied. Rory slowly turned. Behind him, standing in the hall, was one of those strange men, knives reflecting the flickering candlelight, that unsettling, disturbing smile on its face.

It rushed forward, snarling, and Rory quickly met his blades with his own. He staggered back from the force of the blow, eyes wide as the man sneered in his face, its eyes wild. Steel collided with steel and he was pretty sure that the sound of it echoing off the wall was alerting the entire castle to their presence.

He kicked at its leg, ducking when its blade swung over his head. It violently shoved him back towards the wall. The knives came down, and Rory parried as quickly as he could. Over in the corner, Brooke was fiddling with her crossbow. "Come on, you useless piece of junk…"

"Just use the perfume!" Rory exclaimed ducking again, becoming out of breath as he fought back with quick, hard strokes.

"It doesn't work on them! I've tried, believe me!" Brooke called back, fitting a bolt to the string. She still couldn't figure out how it was working.

It knocked the unfamiliar sword out of Rory's hand, and Rory found himself throwing a punch at its head. Its knives tore at his shirt, and Rory just barely jumped back in time. This guy was better trained than the others. He was more fluid in his motions and calculated. He knew what he was doing. He knocked Rory to the ground. Rory kicked him in the stomach.

Brooke rolled her eyes, finally giving up on loading the bolt, and ran up, braining the man in the back of the head with the crossbow. Stunned, he turned, and Rory quickly grabbed the rapier and thrust it into his stomach.

They both breathed a sigh of relief, but that didn't last long. Feet were pounding and shouts rang out through the bottom half of the castle.

"Crap," Brooke muttered. She gritted her teeth and began to run up the stairs. "C'mon! We've gotta find Leonardo, Amy, and the Doctor before those guys catch up with us!"

Rory followed her, hot on her heels as they ran unceremoniously through the castle. There was nowhere to hide. Guards were pouring out of every nook and cranny and Rory found himself ducking down a side hallway with Brooke. They pelted onward, breath coming short and fast.

"There's a room!" Brooke exclaimed, she grabbed Rory by his shirt collar and dove head first into the partially open door, shutting it behind her.

They were breathing hard when they looked up to see a white-haired man with a bulbous nose and wide eyes staring at them. Behind him, the Doctor and Amy were looking equally shocked.

The Doctor recovered first, "Ah! Well! Wonderful entrance."

Brooke laughed breathily, standing up and dusting herself off, "I try. That was lucky, eh Rory?"

Rory nodded.

The Doctor blinked, "Right! Rory, Brooke, this is Leonardo, Leonardo, these are my friends."

Leonardo Da Vinci stuck out his hand, "Good to meet you."

It was a little bit surreal, shaking his hand. Amy walked over, "We just got here ourselves- but we'd better go, sounds like the whole castle is on red-alert."

Rory cringed, "Ah…that might be our fault."

"Brilliant," The Doctor deadpanned. "Well, Ponds, Brooke- Leonardo-" he giggled, "-I'll never get tired of that!" He shooed them out the door, "We'd better run!"


	28. The Mona Lisa

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Alright, guys, I know this is an extremely overdue update, and I apologize. I had it all written once upon a time, but then my computer crashed and I lost the chapter and had to start over from scratch. Anyway, it's here now, and I think you all will enjoy it!

I'm updating today because I'm going to be out of town and visiting family this week, and they live literally in the middle of nowhere, and don't have internet. So I won't be able to update on Friday unless I find an internet cafe or something. So, updating will be weird for the next two weeks or so, if I don't update the following Wednesday (the 5th of Sept, day I get back), then just expect an update on that Friday, (7th).

Anyway, read, relish, and review! :)

* * *

><p>27<p>

**The Mona Lisa**

They turned and burst out of the room. The Doctor glanced left and right, seeing guards pouring in from every direction. They were hot on their tails as the group ducked down a side corridor, Rory knocking down a suit of armor in the process. It fell with a clatter of metal on the stone floor as they dashed onward.

They were about halfway down the hall when Leonardo, huffing and puffing, yelled breathlessly, "Wait!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and stopped. They didn't have time to wait! He spun, still running, "Come on! We don't have the time!"

Leonardo shook his head, running up to grip the Doctor's wrist, "It's a matter of life and death."

That stopped the Doctor in his tracks, "What is?"

"The painting, I have to get the painting… and the book, it's the only way to stop her," he raved manically, an insane glint in his brown eyes.

"Stop who?" Amy had stopped running a long time ago, and she stepped forward in interest, arms folded around herself. They could hear the feet pounding on the stone not far from them, shouts echoing off the cavernous castle walls.

"And what book?" Rory added looking equally confused as everybody else.

Leonardo swallowed and took another gasping breath. Humans. Single cardiovascular systems were so much weaker than binary, the Doctor though idly. "No time to explain, we need to get to the library."

The Doctor nodded and swallowed, thinking hard. He knew that there could possibly be more things at risk and higher stakes than the life of one of the most renowned inventors of all time. If the Mona Lisa was an alien, and if she truly was dangerous as it seemed, and those other creatures were definitely dangerous and probably linked to her… they could be a danger to the culture and ways of Florence, of Italy… and if they were a danger to that, then they were a danger to the Renaissance, which in turn would endanger the future culture of Britain, America, and the rest of Europe…

Yes, there were definitely higher stakes than just the life of an Inventor.

He clapped Leonardo on the shoulder, "Alright, lead on."

"Look! There they are!"

They turned to see a Captain and several other guards pointing at them, beginning to rush down the steps and over the suit of armor into the corridor. Leonardo's eyes widened, and he looked at the group.

"Follow me."

The old man turned pushed past Brooke, Amy, and Rory and made his way as quickly as he could down the corridor. Amy and the Doctor followed, and Rory was about to when he noticed Brooke wasn't with them. She was loading her crossbow.

She aimed and fired.

An arrow seemed to grow out of the chest of one of the guards.

Brooke didn't have time to reload. Another guard caught up with her, swinging his sword. She blocked it with the wood of the crossbow, but she had nothing to fight back with. Before he even knew what he was doing, his legs kicked into action and Rory ran forward, swung his sword, and sliced the surprised man's head clean off.

He grabbed Brooke's hand, "Come on!"

Rory dragged Brooke down the corridor after Leonardo, Amy, and the Doctor's receding backs. They pelted onward, fueled by adrenaline, fear, and the voices of their chasers echoing after them.

Leonardo turned down a side corridor, opening a steel door and ushering everyone into it. It was dark inside, with only a sliver of light from the door standing slightly ajar, and that faded as Leonardo slipped in and shut it.

Their breathing was heavy and labored as the guards ran past, shouting about where on earth they'd gone. Then, Leonardo whispered, "This goes to the library, just down the tunnel."

The Doctor nodded to him, even though he couldn't see his face, and then turned and crept down the pitch-black passage. Their feet slapped on the wet stone, and as his fingers brushed the roughness of the walls, he occasionally ran across a spongy patch of moss or the slimy bump of a slug or snail. It was clear that these secret catacombs were not often used. The Doctor often found himself turning into a clumsy, flailing, ninja as his face or hands would catch on a dusty, damp cobweb. The air was still and musky, rank with the smell of wet plaster and rotting organic debris.

There was a faint hint of fear that was making its cold home in the Time Lord's heart. He wasn't even sure if fear was the right word or not. It was just that… he had no idea what he was getting into here. He'd never seen these types of aliens before. He didn't know their tactics, or weaknesses, or strengths. He didn't know their plans or what their plans might be. He didn't know their goals or their hatred or their lust. He didn't know anything. For a Time-traveler his age, who'd seen just about everything…that was frightening. Terrifying, even.

His fingertips finally brushed up against strong, smooth wood. His superior nose inhaled new scents, scents of smoke and oranges, wood and the dank musk of dusty old books and unmoved furniture. They'd arrived. His long, clumsy fingers fumbled around until they found a button, and he pressed.

The wooden wall revolved to a darkened room. Candles had been snuffed. Curtains had been pulled. The only light came from the glow of the smoldering coals that had been left to burn in the hearth. The Doctor stepped out of the passage and onto a rug, actually holding his breath, though he didn't know why. Perhaps it was because it was a library. Libraries were filled with ideas and concepts and stories. All of them were begging to be told and read and listened to. One didn't speak in libraries. One listened. One read. One came to learn, to know, to understand. There was something about a roomful of books that sometimes rendered a person speechless. Maybe it was just the solemnity of the place, maybe it was the state of being, maybe it was because libraries were kind of outside of time.

He liked libraries. Libraries were a place where ideas were immortal. They could live on as long as the books did, gathering dust but cheating time. Ideas were always there, fresh as they were the day they were thought of, waiting. Waiting to be picked up by someone who could open up to their magic. Perhaps books, in themselves, were kind of like little time-machines, transporting people outside of time and space to a place inside their heads.

Yes. That was probably why the Doctor liked libraries.

And yet he hated them. He hated them because of River. Because libraries, or rather, The Library was a tomb as much as it was a temple. It held things and lives that were long dead, only to be resurrected in a reader's mind. Except for River. River could never be resurrected. She never would be. And yet, she was every time he met her. Rebirthing and reborn. First a stranger, then an acquaintance. Friend, now. What was next? Every time he met her she was different. Changing and evolving, parts of her dropping off, being left by the wayside, forgotten as she got younger and he got older. Until Darillium. Until that awful day that loomed in his future. Until he would send her off, screwdriver in hand. She would continue to rush on, going to a Library to be open up to ideas and be reborn one more time. Until there was nothing left of River Song.

He was shaken from his thoughts as Leonardo rushed past him to an easel, quickly rolling up the canvass on it and securing it with a bit of twine and sliding it into its protective casing.

The Doctor sucked in a breath and glanced around, trying to swallow the knot that had twisted itself in his throat at the thoughts. "Alright, Leonardo…" he said quietly, "What book are we looking for?"

"It's not in here," Leonardo responded, "we have to go a bit farther to find that."

The guards' calls were faint now, hallways away, but they were getting closer.

"Take your time then," Brooke muttered sarcastically as Leonardo slowly walked to the north wall of the library and began thumbing through books.

Rory frowned, "Why are you looking if you know the book isn't in here?"

Leonardo held up a finger, shushing him irately, "Everyone be quiet for a moment!" He fingered the bookcase and then gently tugged on each book as he pressed his ear to them, listening for something. Then, a slow smile spread across his face and he pulled a book out, pressing his hand to the back of the bookcase.

A green, electrical light emitted from that spot, and the case moved the reveal a door that was very much alien.

"Holy crap." Brooke breathed.

The Doctor stepped forward and fingered the symbols on the door, brushing Leonardo aside as he traced circles on the metal. Finally he turned the handle, and went inside. Rory, Amy, Leonardo, and Brooke followed, shutting the door as the bookcase slid back into place behind them.

"Cool, secret alien room in a castle in Florence…" Amy muttered, swallowing as she glanced around. Her eyes widened when they set on a figure, sitting in a chair.

Everybody froze.

"Well, Leonardo, I was wondering when you'd show up. Have you finished your blueprints, yet?"

It was the Mona Lisa.

That ethereal smile lit up her face as she looked at the old man, her delicate fingers were poised on the sides of the settle she rested on, midnight blue dress puffed around her like a cloud of silk and satin.

"Ah, I… I haven't, Signora…" The inventor began.

She hushed him, standing as the silk flowed about her, her eyes piercing even while that smile stayed on her lips.

Rory blinked, "So she really does smile like that…" he whispered. Amy rolled her eyes at him.

The room was quiet as she glared at Da Vinci. "I have given you more than enough time. Where are my war machines you promised me? Where are my secret weapons? My hand-cannons? My diving gear?" Her voice was dangerously low. "Surely you, Signor Da Vinci, have not run out of ideas. That would be most unfortunate for you."

A purr was heard from the four corners of the room. The Doctor looked around. Man-shaped shadows shifted in the eerie, green candlelight. Their faces were barely hidden, but that smile was still evident. So were the knives.

"As much as I'd love to chat," the Doctor started, "We're getting a bit chased, rather annoying, really, and we just need a book."

She held up a worn, leather-bound manuscript. "This?"

The Doctor glanced at Leonardo. The man nodded.

"I'm afraid this holds the secrets to… well… just about everything. You see…"

"Doctor." The Doctor supplied.

She raised an eyebrow, "Doctor. I come from very, very far away. So far away, I'm sure your infinitesimal mind could barely imagine."

The Doctor simply smirked at her. "You'd be surprised."

She frowned at the interruption. "And this holds, well, important things that only my race should know. Now, apparently, our dear inventor here has read it. I can't allow those secrets out… so… what to do, what to do?" She snapped her fingers, and one of the men in the corners stepped forward. "I suppose I'll just have to take his mind directly."

She stepped forward towards Leonardo, who naturally took a step back. "This will be rather inconvenient." She sighed, "Your mind won't be half as useful when it's controlled…"

"Don't you dare…" The Doctor muttered, reaching for his sonic just as Rory raised his sword.

She simply smiled and stretched out her hand. The Doctor sonicked, and Rory jumped in between.

Her hand brushed his neck, and her smile widened. Before the Doctor could even think of what to do, the same smile spread itself across Rory's face, and he turned, raising his sword.

The Mona Lisa grinned devilishly, "Leave Da Vinci to me. Kill them."


	29. The Doctor Lies

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Yay! Back with an update! I've missed my readers and this story so much! Anyway, this chapter was supposed to be something else entirely, but everybody else but me had different ideas, so you got this. It's a much darker update than I've written in a while... oh well. I hope you enjoy it! A friendly reminder: This part of the fic takes place in between _A Good Man Goes to Wa_r and _Let's Kill Hitler. _Anyway, read, relish, and review and see you all next Friday! :)

* * *

><p>28<p>

**The Doctor Lies**

"Run!"

"Obviously!" Brooke shouted in response to the Doctor's characteristic exclamation. She bolted out the door, Leonardo huffing and puffing by her side, carrying the painting and muttering something about them needing the book. The Doctor stopped. Amy was frozen to the spot, staring at her husband, practically in shock as she watched him advancing toward her.

"Amy, come on! We have to go!" The Doctor yelled, running up to her and tugging on her arm.

Amy wasn't listening, "Rory please – fight it, you have to fight it-"

The Last Centurion's sword swung. Amy yelped. The Doctor dove for her.

He pulled her out of the room just in time. Amy's breaths were coming in short, frantic gasps. "Doctor, what did she do to him?"

He bit his lip and gave her a hard look, "Amy, I- I don't know. Mind control of some sort. Right now, though, we have to run."

"I'm not leaving him. He waited for me for 2000 years, how do you expect me to leave him right now?"

"Amy, please," he was practically pleading with her, "We'll get him back, I promise."

Amy swallowed and looked away from him, wrapping her arms around herself, "Rule one."

The Doctor Lies

He took a deep breath. It was a punch to his gut. Wrenching both of his hearts out. Ever since Demonsrun, she hadn't trusted him like she used to. A few months before, Amy would've followed him to the ends of the Universe without a shadow of a doubt. Now, that trust had been completely shattered with the loss of Melody. He couldn't blame her. He wasn't trustworthy. He never had been. He'd promised her that he'd find Melody. He'd found her only to lose her again. He'd promised he'd find her again. Had he? Was she safe? He knew she'd grow up to be River… but… that still didn't mean that he'd actually kept his promise to find her. How could he expect Amy to trust him when he couldn't trust himself?

"I know," he whispered, "But I still need you to trust me now." He did need her to trust him. Because if his companions couldn't. Nobody could.

The sound of Rory and the rest of the creatures bursting out of the room shook them both from their thoughts.

"Hurry up!" Brooke yelled at them, struggling to load her crossbow. Finally she fired, and the bolt whizzed past the Doctor's ear and thudded into one of the creature's chests. "This is too slow to load, I won't have another chance to fire again! Let's go!"

Amy's gaze still lingered on Rory as the Doctor forcibly dragged her down the hall after Leonardo and Brooke. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones with a crossbow. One of the creatures was struggling to load and fire at them. Rory snatched it from him and loaded it quickly as the Doctor, Amy, Brooke, and Leonardo retreated. He drew back the bolt and then let it go.

Amy stopped dead in her tracks and the Doctor jerked a bit because he was still pulling her along. He turned around to yell something about them having to run again when he realized. She was looking down in complete shock at a bolt that seemed to grow from her thigh. She looked up at the Doctor, mouth slightly agape, stunned and in pain. He looked past her to see Rory smiling in satisfaction as Amy's blood pooled on the floor. The Doctor felt sick. This had to be somehow his fault.

He rushed forward and caught her as her injured leg gave out. Rory was advancing toward them. "C'mon, Amy, we still gotta run… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Amy- you can do it… please," The Doctor begged her as Brooke rushed past them, knife in hand. The Doctor caught the girl on the arm, "What are you doing?!"

Brooke shook him off, "Go, get Leonardo, go. Down the stairs, turn left, then find the grate. You can crawl through it."

"We're not leaving you behind," the Doctor said firmly. He'd already lost Rory, Amy was shot- he couldn't lose Brooke too.

"Go." Brooke repeated, shoving him in the direction of the stairs. Before he could make a reply, she charged headlong at Rory and the others.

He swallowed and looked away, trying to gather himself. They could use a miracle right about now. How could everything go so wrong, so quickly? He quickly scooped Amy up and started to run.

"C'mon, Da Vinci!" He hollered as he pelted down the hall.

"What about-"

"Let's go!"

Amy was in a haze as the Doctor carried her out. Her vision was blurring at the edges as throbbing, stabbing pain set in. All she could do was close her eyes and lean her head against his chest, feeling the strange but reassuring twin beating of his hearts which was so fast and erratic now. She could feel her own heart thumping in her chest, breathing was painful and ragged. Her brain was trying to register the trauma to her leg. People were shouting. Chasing them. The ring of steel cut into her haze. The Doctor was yelling Brooke's name…

Everything snapped back in a wave of pain as she felt the Doctor duck into a side-room away from the chaos and slam and bolt the door. She was laid down on the floor, cool stone digging into her back.

"We can't stall- they could trap us in he-" Leonardo was saying.

"I know!" The Doctor shouted back fiercely. He knelt beside Amy, taking out his sonic. The comforting whir filled the room as he probed her leg. "The bolt ruptured her femoral artery. I may not be able to stop the bleeding… and I definitely won't if we don't stop to try!"

"-Doctor?" Amy's voice was small, a fraction of her usual boisterous Scottish brogue.

The Doctor smiled sadly at her, shifting up so she could see him, trying not to think of the blood that was darkly staining the floor vermillion. His fingers ran through her fantastic ginger hair and he swallowed. He shrugged off his tweed and began to tear viciously at his shirt-sleeve. "Amy, it's going to be okay. You're going to be fine- I promise…"

"No I'm not-"

"Shh, seriously. You're so Scottish." His voice was thick with withheld tears, "I'm going to have to take out the bolt- it's going to hurt. I need to raise your leg so I can push it through."

"Okay…" she whimpered softly, nodding.

He lifted her leg and she sobbed a bit, fingers clenching around his shirt-sleeve. "Amy Pond." The Doctor said, almost like a prayer. Snap went the back of the bolt. Amy cried, "Girl who waited," tug on the bolt. The splatter of blood on the ground, Amy trying not writhe, "Woman who survived," he grabbed the strip of his shirt and began wrapping it around the wound, "I promise you that you're going to be okay, and I'll get Rory back. I'll find Melody. I'll fix this." He had to.

He gently lowered her head back down to the stone, stroking her hair. "There, worst is over. You're fine." he was slowly realizing several things. One, he had to get her back to the TARDIS. His shirt wasn't going to be enough to stem the blood. Two, there was no way they were crawling out of here with her.

"-we have to go, our way out will be blocked soon-" Leonardo cut in.

"No!" Amy shouted, half delirious with pain, "I'm not leaving Rory."

"Amy, please trust me…" The Doctor begged her again.

Tears were pricking at the corners of her eyes as she stared up at the ceiling, "I-I can't."

He could swear he heard his hearts shatter.

But he had to do what was best for her. That meant getting her back to the TARDIS, with or without her consent, and he couldn't do that with her shouting the whole way.

"Amy, I'm sorry… but I have to do this- I'm sorry-"

Before she could even realize what he was doing, he pressed his fingers to her temples to put her to sleep. She went limp in his arms on the stone floor. The Doctor gathered her up again, trying not to think about the blood that was still dripping on the floor.

Leonardo opened the door a crack and peered out. "It's clear. Ready?"

The Doctor swallowed. "I'm always ready."

He was going to fix this. He had to.


	30. Smooth Getaway

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Wow, it feels like forever since I've updated, and I know this is a really late update in the day and so most of you won't get to it until tomorrow, and I'm sorry about that. *huffs* Life, stop being so stupid! Aaaaanyway, I think you guys will enjoy this chapter. It's shorter and more humorous than the one before it. (I also apologize for the shortness, but I'm still adjusting to my new school life, so life's been stupid and hectic, which is why posting has been all over the place the past couple of weeks, I promise, I PROMISE, it'll improve, thank you all for being so patient!)

So kick off your shoes, get your favorite drink and a cookie, and enjoy the next update! Feel free to drop me a review to tell me if you enjoyed it, or to simply yell at me for being the stupidest updater on the planet. ;)

* * *

><p>29<p>

**Smooth Getaway**

The Doctor's feet pounded down the hall, Leonardo huffing behind him. He could hear the guards not a few hallways down. Amy was moaning in pain in his arms, dazed with her wound. He prayed she'd quiet.

One thing was on his mind. How was he going to manage crawling through a drain with Amy in this state. He just couldn't see how that would be possible. He could carry her. Dragging her would cause her more pain and just slow them down. They'd be surrounded at the other side in no time. Where could he go? The only other way out was through the party…

Oh.

_Oh._

He took a sharp left, not even stopping to think about if there would be more guards up there or not. Hopefully word hadn't spread that fast about him, Amy, and the rest. He had no idea how he was going to explain Amy's current state or the man behind him carrying the book and the painting or anything else, all he knew was that it was his only chance. He ran up the steps, two at a time. He knew Leonardo couldn't run as fast as him, nor did he have the endurance, but he couldn't wait for him. His shirt wouldn't last in stemming the flow of blood from Amy's bolt wound for long, not with all this running. She needed to be stitched up properly. At this rate, if he slowed down now, she'd bleed out and die. He couldn't let that happened. He'd promised.

He may lie.

But he always kept his promises.

He'd always came for her. He would find Melody. He would save Rory. He'd get Brooke. He'd fix this. He would.

He burst into the party, breathing hard. There came a gasp, and maybe a scream, he wasn't sure at this point. That woman that Amy had been talking to earlier ran up them. What was her name? Wasn't she a duchess of something?

"What happened?" She exclaimed, her eyes wide."

The Doctor chuckled easily, shaking his head, "What? Oh, her?" Amy moaned. He was pleading with her in his mind not to be too loud. "She's, uh…" he could hear the guards yelling down the halls. The party was almost dead quiet around them, all eyes on him. "Ah, nothing to see here, she just took a spill down the stairs, landed on a suit of armor. She's fine," he said quickly, even as Amy continued to stir and cry in pain, proving him wrong.

The Doctor pushed past the woman, muttering a few apologies and making his way toward the door. Think fast, think fast, what are you going to say? He looked at the guard and grinned, "Thanks, it's been a lovely party, but the Duchess is injured and we really have to go… Give the Lady Mona Lisa our regards, will you?"

The guard was too stunned to make much of a reply and simply nodded, opening the door for them and letting them through. "God go with you, good Bishop!"

The Doctor blinked and then grinned and nodded, "And with you, my… child…" He frowned and shook his head. That's what bishops said, right? "Come on, Leonardo, let's go!" He ran out the door.

It was just in time, too. He heard behind him, "There they are! What are you doing letting them out? Get them!"

The Doctor broke into a run.

X X X

Brooke had been captured. She glared at the man that held her, who simply smirked back with that smile she hated. She tried to shake herself free, wincing from the pain shooting through her leg. "Get. Off me."

The Mona Lisa was just recovering from the shock of having all of this go wrong so quickly. Her precious book was stolen. Brooke guessed that whatever inside it was important from the way she was screaming at her henchmen to retrieve it.

"So… what's this I hear about you trying to take over Italy?" Brooke called to her, an eyebrow raised. The woman turned on her heel, eyes smoldering as she walked up to Brooke and backhanded her across the face. Brooke saw stars for a moment, the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. "Right, shutting up. Don't want to anger you, I suppose."

"He's upstairs." She snapped to Rory, "Go."

Rory nodded and barked some orders to those around him, they followed him upstairs without question. The Mona Lisa snapped her fingers to the one who had the grip around Brooke's arm and then stalked after Rory. The man dragged Brooke with him.

She was gritting her teeth, trying to keep up with the fast pace so she wouldn't fall to the ground and get dragged along by the creature. Her leg was absolutely killing her, pain shot up through it, it was quivering, ready to give way. She silently willed it not to. She could hear the Doctor running away from them. There were drops of blood staining the floor as they followed.

Brooke prayed that he would get out okay.

She was trying to think of how she could get Rory to see some sense. There was obviously some sort of link between the Mona Lisa and him. It had to be psychic, right? She'd only touched him. But, the only way to break psychic links was…

Well that was brilliant.

Somehow she was going to have to manage to get free of her captor, get the Mona Lisa alone and knock her out. It was that or wait for the Doctor to rescue them so he could break the psychic link himself.

Brooke didn't enjoy waiting.

They were nearing the party. There was no chance of getting at her now. She'd have to wait anyway. A smile crossed her face as she saw the Doctor's rear retreating through the main doorway, carrying Amy, Leonardo in tow.

The Mona Lisa huffed indignantly, "Wha- there he is! Get him!"

Rory and the other group of guards were running off after him as the woman stomped up to the guard that was at the doorway. He was nearly trembling as she glared down at him. "Why didn't you stop him?!" She was seething.

The guard blinked, "Why would I? It's illegal to raise your hand against a man of god, my lady, that's the Bishop of Gallifrey!"

Brooke burst out laughing, not caring if she got hit again. The look on the Mona Lisa's face was priceless.

"The _who_?"


	31. Adrenaline

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **I've missed you all! In case any of you who read Beneath the Script were wondering, it _is_ going to be updated this week. It's just that has been stupid for me lately, so I've been having trouble actually updating it. It should be up today if uploading this works out in the normal way of uploading.

Aaanyway, all that aside, this is another short chapter, with cliffies and whatnot, but it's a step closer to getting the Doctor back to the TARDIS. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it and tell me what you think! I look forward to hearing from you! So grab a cookie, a glass of tea, or whatever you like and get comfortable!

* * *

><p><strong>30<strong>

**Adrenaline**

The Doctor's feet pounded on the ground, his breath coming in short, fast gasps as even his binary system tried to keep up with both the fast pace and carrying Amy in his arms. The tall redhead was taking a toll on his body and mind as he carried her. His head whipped around, and there was Leonardo, running right behind him. Behind Leonardo, was about four or five of those creatures. The Doctor was far from defenseless, but right now, he had no weapons besides his mind and his screwdriver. Ah, just like old times!

He needed to make it to the TARDIS fast, his makeshift bandage was starting to slip on Amy's leg, if that came loose and tore at the wound, the bleeding would start up again and she could die. He swallowed and picked up the pace. He heard a whizzing sound from behind him and ducked. A knife flew over his head and he blinked. That was close. Good thing he wasn't wearing his fez. He turned left sharply, then ran down a few side-streets, finally bursting into a crowd. He kept running pushing people out of his way. Carts, children, merchants and beggars scurried to get out of the way of the madman carrying the injured girl and the strangers chasing him.

He was over the bridge now, feet slapping the pavement in a hurried, frantic rhythm. He took big, gasping breaths. The guards. The guards at the bridge. They were closing in… forming a barricade.

No.

He skidded to a halt. These guards had apparently gotten word of his arrival. Either that, or they knew that anyone being chased by the Mona Lisa's minions ought to be stopped. His eyes flew to the creatures that were closing in on them from behind, then to the soldiers on the left. He looked at Leonardo, the older man's eyes were wide, seeming to ask him what to do next. He glanced down at Amy, her fingers were threaded in the lapels of his jacket, her eyes were closed and her face was pale. He gulped. There was only one way out of this. This time, it wasn't diplomacy. It wasn't fighting. It was good, old-fashioned running. He saw his chance. He took it.

"C'mon, Leonardo!" The Doctor's gangly legs jumped up on the side of the bridge, and he clutched Amy close to his chest, and then jumped.

All of his insides felt like they wanted to be on his outside as the air rushed in his ears, legs flailing and then snapping together and cutting the water as he hit it with a crack. Leonardo splashed in next to him. For a moment, everything was muted, watery, and peaceful. The Doctor shifted Amy's weight to one arm and kicked for all he was worth, swimming to the surface. With a gasp, he bobbed up, struggling to tread water and keep Amy aloft as well.

A heady rush of adrenaline and relief flooded him as he saw the guards and the creatures wondering just what to do, barking orders to each other and seeming to get into a ginormous argument. The Doctor let loose with a giddy laugh and then began to swim, one armed, to one of the docks.

With some difficulty, they made it to the dock and the Doctor heaved him and Amy up over the side.

Amy coughed spastically and the Doctor quickly turned her over to her side, cringing as the redhead moaned slightly. The bandage had shifted and fresh blood was pooling on the wood of the dock, staining it crimson.

"Dammit." He muttered, "No, no, no, Amy, not now!" He got back to work retying the bandage, applying as much pressure as he could, but the creatures could see them. They were coming from the other end. They'd be there in a matter of minutes.

X X X

Back at the castle, the Mona Lisa was fuming. The fisted her hand ferociously around the pleated collar of the guard and forcibly dragged him after her. He was apologizing, pleading, terrified. Rory followed her head held high and hand on his crossbow as he stalked down the hall. He motioned for the creature holding Brooke to bring her.

When they reached the library again, Brooke was struggling to stay on her feet. The pain in her leg was nearly unbearable. It continued to buckle, and the creature's iron grip would tighten, he would grunt, and haul her back to her feet. Brooke bit her lip, trying to lean most of her weight on her other leg as the Mona Lisa all but dumped the petrified guard to the ground and began to pace like a lion in a cage.

"I ask you, have you ever even heard of a place called Gallifrey? Did you check to see if there was such a place? Did you check to see if they were even on the list?!" She roared down at the guard.

He was trembling, "N-no… I simply… I… he said he was a bishop…"

"Quiet." She sat in a chair, putting her head in her hands, "You're obviously a useless waste of my resources."

He swallowed.

The Mona Lisa looked up at Rory and gestured to the guard impatiently, "Well?"

Rory nodded and took a dagger from one of the guards and grabbed the guard by his hair, pulling his head back and exposing his throat. The guard's eyes were wide with fear.

"No! My lady- ple-"

He didn't get to finish.

His body fell to the ground unceremoniously and Rory wiped the blood off the dagger, giving it back to the creature he'd received it from. He stepped back into place. Brooke felt sick. If she was going to do this, she'd better do it soon, before more people got killed.

The Mona Lisa turned to Brooke, "And you, you're working with him. Tell me of this Doctor."


	32. Counting Chickens

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Finally, another update. It seems that College completely ate me and my writing last week /unenthusiastic cheers/. Updating should start getting back to normal as I start getting used to the idea of being in College three years to early /sigh/. Anyway! Here's the update, with quite a few plot developments :D Hope you guys enjoy it, and don't forget to leave a review. (or set rabid oods on me for not updating last week)

* * *

><p><strong>31<strong>

**Counting Chickens**

Amy's face was nearly completely drained of color as the Doctor continued to try and stem the blood. There was simply not enough time. He looked up, realizing he'd forgotten about Leonardo completely in the mad jump off the Bridge. The sputtering man was just now making it to the dock. The Doctor reached forward with one hand and hauled him out of the water. He then returned to Amy, ignoring the older man (or should he say, man in the older body) who was protesting loudly that they should be moving. The Doctor pushed some hair out of Amy's face, dread filling his heart as he saw how glazed Amy's eyes were from the pain, shock, and disorientation.

"C'mon, Amy, hold on just a little bit longer, for Rory," the Doctor begged her as he rewrapped the bandage around her leg. He blocked out her strangled cry as he lifted her up and began running again. It was only then that he registered Leonardo's frantic gasps for air as he tried to explain something.

"- Doctor – the painting." Gasp. "Doctor!"

The Doctor whirled angrily, "Amy is dying and all you can think about is your painting?"

"It's completely destroyed- a year of work, of Invention down the drain!" he exclaimed.

The Doctor continued running, "Doesn't matter, we'll repaint it."

"You don't understand-"

"-Oh I understand perfectly. It's not just a regular painting. You're building a prison to house the Mona Lisa."

Leonardo's mouth fell open and he looked at him in shock, "How do you…?"

"It's called time travel, Leonardo. Basic complicated physics." The Doctor replained, grabbing the inventor by the collar and pulling him into a shop. He leapt behind a counter and ducked underneath it as the soldiers who were chasing them ran by. The Doctor looked up and grinned at very perplexed shopkeeper who was probably wondering why exactly a strangely dressed man holding a half-dead ginger was hiding behind his counter.

"Hello, mind if we crash here for a bit?" The Doctor asked politely. Or, at least he thought he was being polite. Maybe you were supposed to ask and then hide? Oh well, there hadn't been time for that. You'd think in all these years of doing these he'd know.

The shopkeeper raised his hands and started towards the back room. "I don't want to know, Signor, just leave me alone."

The Doctor gave him a spastic thumbs up and whisper-screamed, "Thank you!"

Leonardo then hissed, "Doctor, explain how you know about the painting."

"Long story. Basically I'm from the future and I've seen the finished work. I saw you had some problems with aliens and decided to come help."

Leonardo just blinked.

Finally, they were able to get out and head cautiously to the TARDIS. If Leonardo was curious before he went into the strange box, he was even more curious about it after. When he went inside, his eyes widened and he looked around the room openmouthed. He stepped out and walked around the box before going back in and demanding, "How is this achieved?"

"Ah," the Doctor called, as he meandered down a random hall, carrying Amy, "I'd tell you but you wouldn't be able to understand."

Leonardo followed him down the hall, pausing at the console to brush his fingers on it, wondering what exactly it was for. Could all these buttons be used to control the…whatever it was?

"Don't touch anything! Wouldn't want to end up on Raxicoricofallapatorius, would we?"

Leonardo snatched his hand away from the console. He didn't know what Raxicoricofallapatorius was, but from the Doctor's tone, it wouldn't be pleasant.

Leonardo found the Doctor in a sterile room, with Amy on a table as he opened a box of small, golden lights. The Doctor smiled as the nanogenes did their work repairing Amy's leg. When they'd finished, his companion gasped a bit and blinked, looking up at the Doctor.

"Doctor?"

He pushed some ginger hair from her face and smiled down at her, "Good to have back, Pond."

"Where's Rory?" She immediately demanded.

The Doctor's face fell, "Still back at the castle, but I promise we're not leaving him there. Now say 'ah'." Amy did and the Doctor popped a hard candy in her mouth that he'd gotten from who-knows-where and then turned to Leonardo, his eyes dark. "So, would you mind showing me the book that has nearly cost three of my friends their lives?"

* * *

><p>Brooke smiled at the woman's question, "I know that you'd be better off shaking with fear and take your alien backside back wherever it came from, because you've just tangled with the wrong Time-Lord."<p>

A slap rang through the room, and the sting on Brooke's cheek quickly followed like thunder to lightning. She bit back a whimper as her entire body was forced to swing her body weight to her bad leg.

The Mona Lisa glared, "I didn't ask you your opinion. I asked you the facts."

Brook smirked, spitting out blood on the floor. "I just gave them to you." her eyes were scanning her environment. There was nothing hard and heavy enough to use to knock the Mona Lisa out. She might have to resort to something a bit more primitive. If you could get any more primitive than beaning her with a, for-all-intents and purposes, club. Though, bashing her with a blunt object was becoming increasingly more appealing as time wore on.

"You obviously have no idea who I am, do you?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow, "An unimportant, petulant alien who's having a temper tantrum because she can't get the planet she wants?" She paused, "Or perhaps a poor, misunderstood alien who really just needs a hug?" Her grin widened.

"Silence," the Mona Lisa snapped. Standing, her slim fingers traced Rory's collarbone as she passed, giving him a smile that made Brooke feel a bit sick. She looked back at Brooke. "I am Monavelucidonauanalisa."

"I can see why they call you Mona Lisa," was the snarky reply.

The woman twitched with contained anger, but ignored her for the most part. "I am going to take over Italy," she continued haughtily, "and there's nothing you can do to stop me. It will topple," she punctuated each of her next words with her fingers slowly walking up Rory's arm, "City-state, by city-state." Her eyes flicked up to watch Rory's blank expression bemusedly. Brooke saw her moment of distraction, an opportunity, and took it.

She sprang out of her chair, ignoring the stabbing pain in her leg, and grabbed the woman be her hair. The Mona Lisa's eyes widened and she all but screamed, arms flailing and made several indignant noises in another language that could be curses, if Brooke understood them. She vaguely wondered if River would've understood her. Before Rory could even react to save his captor, Brooke muffled the Mona Lisa's sharp cry of surprise with a hand and rammed her head into the stone wall. She let her fall, unconscious to the floor.

Brooke huffed and dusted off her hands. As she limped forward to a convulsing Rory, she muttered, "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched."


	33. The TRL Handbook

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling) **WOW. WOW. _WOW._ I am SO sorry for leaving you guys hanging for so long, but life and college and sickness have seemed to conspire against me to bully my writing! *sigh, puts head down on desk in frustration* I hate college! (not really) I wanna roll on the carpet and drink juice and color! _Anyway_, Brooke and Rory's section was hard to write :( but other than that, I'm pretty happy with this chapter! Soon, _soon_ we shall capture the Mona Lisa! ehehe! Soon! In the meantime, read this chapter and eat cookies! *holds old plate of chocolate chip cookies* and leave a review! You are entitled to yell at me and sick rabid oods on me for not posting for such a long time! :)

* * *

><p>32<p>

**The TRL Handbook**

The question hung in the air as the Doctor looked at the older man, waiting for his answer.

"Your friends are...unfortunate. But this book, Doctor-" he pulled it from his pocket. It was soaked, but he carefully opened it, surprised to find that it wasn't damaged, the pages weren't sticking, neither was the ink running. He blinked and shook his head, muttering a bit to himself before continuing. "This book holds the secrets of the Universe!"

The Doctor shook his head, walking over and snatching the book from the inventor's hands. "Not even the secrets of the Universe are worth the lives of my friends, not to me." He set the book down on the table, then reached to get the painting. It too was soaked, but thankfully, Leonardo used egg-oil tempera paints. It hadn't begun to run. A quick drying would do the trick.

Leonardo apparently wasn't thinking the same thing. His face fell a bit. "I've been working on that for years. Years of work…wasted."

The Doctor clapped him on the back, "On the contrary, Leonardo, it's quite alright. Come on, I've got just the thing." He glanced behind him to Amy and grinned, "Come along, Pond!"

Amy hopped up and followed him to the random gadget room. It was filled with all sorts of doohickeys and gadgets, blue boringers and red whatsits, things Amy would never be able to name, and things she could name, like eggbeaters and souped-up-microwaves. The Doctor had to tell Leonardo not to touch anything multiple times as he slipped the painting into the flat-dryer. It came out other side, well, flat and dry. The Doctor gave Leonardo a grin and rolled it up, handing it back to Leonardo. The poor man was naturally quite flabbergasted, but before he could ask a million and one questions about how the device worked, the Doctor pressed a finger to his lips and then bounced a bit in place on the balls of his feet.

"Let's get to work on that prison, shall we?" he did a little happy dance and then hustled them down the TARDIS hall back to the console room. "Leonardo, book please!" He held out his hand.

Leonardo blinked, "You left it on the table in your medical room, Doctor."

The Doctor's face fell and he retracted his hand, "Oh…right."

Amy rolled her eyes, "I'll get it."

The Doctor continued down the hallway, Leonardo in tow. Amy caught up with them a few minutes later and handed the Doctor the book. He took it and smiled, holding the book as if it was a treasure and a puzzle at the same time. He leafed through it until he found the page. "Ah! You beauty!" He grinned and held up the book, "It's fantastic, absolutely brilliant, a step by step model on how to build a TRL!"

He ran over and pulled a box down from a shelf in the console room and began to rummage around in it. "Mmm…no, not the red bo-why on earth do I have _red_ boringers? Typewriter keys…extra type- no! Oh, where is it?! –AH!" He triumphantly held out a box with all sorts of random objects splaying from it, springs and cords and what looked like what might possibly be a cyberman arm. "Now this requires vortex energy, there isn't a power-source for this- and I really need a mini TARDIS heart or something else capable of time-travel-"

"-Doctor, what about a vortex manipulator?" Amy asked, folding her arms and leaning against a non-poky bit of the console.

"A…oh! Amy Pond you are brilliant!" He paused, "But where are we getting one of those?"

"Doesn't Brooke have one?"

"Brooke's not here at the moment and I hardly think she'll let her vortex-manipulator become scrap-metal."

"Let's say Ms. Pond's idea doesn't work," Leonardo began, "Have got a better plan, Doctor?"

The Doctor blinked and looked at Amy, and then nodded, "Right. One TRL minus a vortex manipulator until Brooke gets here coming right up!"

* * *

><p>Brooke dragged Rory out of the way, down the hall, and into a room where they wouldn't be found. She then walked back and stuffed Mona Lisa in a cupboard, locking it effectively. She then ran back down the hall and into the room she'd left Rory in, shutting the door behind her.<p>

Rory snapped the awareness a few seconds later, gasping.

"Welcome back, you idiot."

"I…I shot Amy," was the first thing that slipped from his lips.

Brooke walked over and crouched next to him, "No, you didn't. It wasn't you."

Rory shook his head. He could feel when that happened, his arm raising of its own accord. He'd tried to fight, never had he lost control of his body in his life, not since the first time he'd shot her when he was a plastic centurion. He had had nightmares about that, holding her has she went limp in his arms, her eyes jerked wide open, mouth agape in surprise and pain. He had been helpless…just like now.

"Please tell me she's okay."

Brooke bit her lip, "I honestly don't know. The Doctor has her, they've headed to the TARDIS with Leonardo. I said we'd catch up with them." She stood and picked up the crossbow he'd lost in the seizure, handing it to him. Rory hesitantly took it. "What about the Mona Lisa?"

She gave him a smirk, "She'll be tied up for a while."

"Fantastic." HE got up and glanced out, "Your hands behind your back, please."

"Oh, I like where this is going already," she grinned and did so."

Rory blinked, "I'm just going to pretend that you, a sixteen year old, didn't just say that to me." He shook his head, taking a strip of rope and wrapping it around her wrists. "Between you and River, I think this'll be the death of us."

Rory took her from behind the wrists in one hand and led her down the hall, shouldering the crossbow. They wound down the halls. Thankfully, the palace was in an uproar because of what had happened just hours earlier, and not many people paid attention to them, not until they made it to a side door leading outside. A guard stopped them, holding up his hand.

"Where are you taking her?"

"The Signora wants me to take her out, get rid of her," Rory replied, putting on a passive mask, his voice frigid and rimmed with icicles.

Brooke's eyes widened so she could keep up with the act. "What, so she kills helpless young girls, now?" she spat contemptuously.

Rory knew what he had to do to get them out safely, it didn't make the violent backhand any less painful for either of them, especial when a trickle of crimson blood ran from her nose as she glared at him defiantly. He could see the pride and encouragement in her eyes, however, silently telling him to keep going, she was fine, she could take it. Rory forced himself not to suck in a breath with her as he fisted a hand in her hair and yanked her head back forcibly, hissing, "Shut it, or I might not kill you quickly." Without letting go of her curls, Rory turned back to the guard and commanded, "Let us through."

The guard, clearly intimidated, swallowed, nodded, and unlocked the door. Brooke and Rory slipped through into the darkness, his grip like a vice on her until they were out of sight.


	34. Apologies and Regrets

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling)** Here you guys go! A new update! Written during my college guidance and success class (which is a little ironic...what can I say? I was bored and this was more appealing!). Anyway, I've got cookies over here and tea and hot chocolate and coffee and really anything you'd like, help yourselves out! We've gotten spinny chairs too! So if you prefer those over the comfy chairs, have at 'em! So sit down, enjoy your reading, and don't forget to leave a review. I won't sick the oods on you if you don't, but I will be very dissapointed ;) Happy reading!

* * *

><p>33<p>

**Apologies and Regrets**

By the time Rory and Brooke had reached the TARDIS, Brooke was panting heavily in pain, gasping every once in a while. The weight and activity on her leg was getting to be nearly unbearable. Rory opened the TARDIS door and ushered Brooke inside, his hand on her arm was a gentle contrast to the front he'd had to put on earlier. Rroy was by no means feeling easy about the fact that he'd had to hurt her. Brooke had taken it well, reminded him that she was fine, but that didn't ease his guilt.

The Doctor, Amy, and Da Vinci all looked up in surprise when the pair entered the Console Room. Amy rushed over and threw her arms around her husband's neck, "God, you're okay! The Doctor said you would be."

Rory felt a stab of guilt and pulled away to get a good look at her, looking her over carefully for the signs of that crossbow bolt. "I shot you."

"Yeah-no- it wasn't you. You didn't have a choice." She paused and kissed him deeply, cupping the sides of his face, "God, I was so worried- the Doctor fixed it- it's fine." She looked over to where the Doctor was sonicking Brooke. She was leaning against the console heavily.

"Doctor, as much as I appreciate your concern, however much you sonic me, it's not going to help. Have got an aspirin? Or…better yet some vicoden?" She rubbed her forehead.

The Doctor shook his head, looking apologetic, "I don't…" he sighed, "And the nanogenes need time to recharge."

Brooke nodded and sighed, sinking down to the ground with a wince.

"What happened to your face?" Amy demanded bluntly.

Rory's eyes dropped to the floor and he folded his arms around himself. Brooke shook her head, shrugging, "It doesn't matter."

Something in the Doctor flared. That was River's well broken in phrase. That was her way of deflecting pain. To hear Brook use it was strange and painful. He wondered how many masks the girl really wore. He looked over at Rory, who was shifting from one foot to the other. He was pretty sure he had something to do with it. Whether he'd done it on purpose or not, the Doctor wasn't sure. If he'd done it on purpose, without the mind control, the Doctor was positive he would've had good reason.

"I hit her," Rory finally mumbled.

"What?" Amy's eyes widened and her hands crossed over her chest as she looked between the two of them.

Now the Doctor was just angry. He couldn't help it. He had a protective streak for everyone he cared about – some more than others. He began to pace, mumbling to himself, straightening his bowtie and ruffling his hair. Brooke watched him tiredly.

"Doctor, it's okay."

"No it's not."

With some difficulty, she stood and grabbed him by his jacket sleeve to stop his pacing. "I'm fine, it barely hurt, and it wasn't his fault. We both agreed he needed to do it to get us out of there. There's more important things to worry about now than my bloody nose – and besides, your pacing makes me nervous." She let go of him. "So can we just move on?"

He looked up at her, and his anger slowly melted. There was just something in the way that she was looking at him, with that pain and exhaustion masked behind her strength and wit and he realized she was putting on the mask for him, for Rory. It was to make him and Rory feel better about this whole thing. He had to hand it to her, she wore it well. He wanted to call her out on it, because the trouble with the Doctor was that he was the master of the masquerade. He could always see right through the masks. He also knew how fragile the y were and how essential they could be to the people that wore them.

He turned swiftly and walked deliberately to the makeshift TRL, "Right! Brooke, vortex manipulator, please!"

Brooke slipped it off without hesitation, "What do you need it for?"

"I'm going to need the parts to build the TRL, it's the last bit of it left."

While Brooke was apprehensive to part with her most prized possession, she knew that the Doctor knew what he was doing (most of the time!). She could get another one. It would cost her a pretty penny and River might be a little exasperated with both of them, but she'd survive. A pretty penny was a far smaller price to pay than the destruction and invasion of Italy by a petulant, insane alien.

As the Doctor was working with Leonardo on the TRL, Rory got up and went to the infirmary. He returned with a roll of bandage, some antiseptic, ice, a damp cloth, and motrin. He motioned for Brooke to sit and knelt by her when she did. He then took the warm, wet cloth and gently wiped at the blood from her nose, stemming the bleeding. It stung, but Brooke appreciated the gesture. She knew that it would help to ease his guilt. When he was finished with that, Rory's brow furrowed in concentration and he carefully peeled the makeshift bandage from her leg. Rory knew he couldn't allow it to get infected. Brooke hissed as it tore at the wound, causing Rory to wince with empathy. "Sorry."

"It's okay, go ahead."

He nodded and finished pulling it off, looking up to see Brooke chewing on her jacket sleeve to suppress any cries. He took another deep breath, "Alright, this is going to burn a bit."

Brooke nodded and tensed before making a visible effort to relax. The wound was bleeding again. The skin around it was showing the first signs of infection. It was puffy, angry, and a bit red. Rory reached up and felt Brooke's head, feeling relief wash over him when he didn't pick up any telltale warmth. It took him a little while, but he managed to prop her leg up enough so he could clean the wound. Picking up the bottle, he unscrewed the cap with a snap and poured the liquid onto another cloth. Brooke let out one muffled whimper through her jacket sleeve, causing the Doctor's head to snap up and look over sharply. Rory's mouth was dry as he looked at her, seeing her eyes water a bit.

Murmuring that he'd be done soon, Rory continued to clean the wound as tenderly as he could. When he was finished, he wrapped the bandages firmly around it and tied them off. "Is that too tight?" he asked gently.

Brooke shook her head, "It's perfect."

"Good." Rory gave a short nod and stood. Brooke was about to get up when he stopped her, "No, stay."

"But I want to see the TRL," she nearly whined.

"It's nearly done, Brooke," the Doctor called from over where he was sonicking the device.

"What's the plan for when it's finished?" Amy asked, crossing her arms.

"Find the Mona Lisa, trap her inside," The Doctor replied. Thank you, Captain Obvious!

Brooke chuckled, "Shouldn't be too hard, she's knocked out and locked in a cupboard. If we can get there before she wakes up it ought to be a piece of cake."

The Doctor turned to stare at her, a queer grin spreading across his face, "You locked her in a cupboard, really?"

"Yeah, why?" Brooke blinked.

The Doctor giggled, "Oh nothing. Rory did that to Hitler once."

Rory shrugged, "Yeah, that was fun."

It was Brooke's turn to smirk, "I can imagine."

After a few minutes, the Doctor picked up the painting and showed it to everyone.

"Leonardo, it's beautiful," Amy breathed.

Da Vinci looked absolutely chuffed, "It's a masterpiece, inside and out."

"I helped," The Doctor felt the need to say that.

Leonardo clapped him on the back, "That you did! And you have my thanks."

Brooke grinned, heaving herself off of the Console Room floor, "Shall we go save Italy now?"


	35. Saving Italy

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Gosh, finals are insane, aren't they? I've got three more to go, so apologize about the strange updating, but this is really when I could manage to find the time to get this up. It's a bit longer than the updates have been to make up for that, so I hope you guys enjoy! This chapter is a bit more action-y, including KOs and deaths and maybe a bit of running. As usual, I've got cookies and tea and comfy spinny chairs and whatever your heart desires! Wipe your feet, please, and settle in for a new chapter! I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review on your way out. :) See you all soon!

* * *

><p>34<p>

**Taking Back Italy**

Night had fallen over Florence again. The stairs winked about the lit towers of the Borgia Stronghold, and a dark, spiderlike creature could be seen crawling up the wall. If you strained your eyes, you could see it swing itself up about and over, and another such form begin its ascent.

Brooke crouched behind a pillar, looking around. Guard to her left, another one to her right. The gatehouse was about twenty paces directly in front of her across the cobbled top of the tower. The night air was cool and crisp, but it still had that mild Italian flair to it. She could smell wet stone and wet leaves, and generally wet everything from the light misting of the grounds from the skies above. If she could take out one guard, he would cause a clatter. The other one would hear unless she could kill the first guard quietly enough. Her mind worked on this conundrum as she inched along the wall, hearing Rory land softly on the stone just behind her.

The guard stared down, watching the walls. Little did he know he was watching the wrong wall. He seemed quite bored. Brooke smirked – time to relieve him of some boredom. She snuck forward and took out her narcotic perfume. One spritz would do. She covered her mouth and nose, squirted it into the air, and let the guard fall softly into her arms. She grunted a bit. He was heavy! What on earth did this guy eat? She lowered him with some measure of difficultly to the floor and went to work tying and gagging him, then tossed him in the nearest hiding place: a cart filled with innocent cabbages. She heard a clatter from behind her. So much for killing the other guard quietly. Good thing this one was already down. Rory must've knocked him out. She made her way to the gatehouse and went inside.

The gatehouse guard turned, surprised. Wouldn't you be if an unexpected intruder suddenly walked up behind you in one of the most secure castles in Florence?

Brooke smiled sweetly, "Oh, don't mind me…" A swift blow to the head would keep him occupied for a while – Brooke quickly obliged. She ran to the wench and began to turn it. It creaked and groaned, and she strained with the effort of lifting an iron gate. Her knight in shining armor, Rory, soon joined her however, lifting the gate with her.

He grimaced at her, probably trying to smile, but the exertion wouldn't let him. "Nice job," he said proudly.

Brooke chuckled. "You're not so bad yourself, Centurion."

The Doctor, Amy, and Leonardo ducked under the open gate. Good, Rory and Brooke had gotten through successfully. It was quite handy having the Last Centurion and a rather skilled sixteen-year-old on one's side.

They pressed against the rough stone wall, not daring to even breathe as three guards passed them. The Doctor watched them, squinting in the darkness. One appeared to be a captain.

"Where is she?" they heard the captain hiss furiously to his subordinates.

"We've no idea, we've searched the whole castle!" Another one shrugged exasperatedly.

"Well keep searching!" He snapped, "Where could she have gone? All of her strongmen have fallen ill… we need them to find Da Vinci."

They both nodded and scurried off like well-trained dogs. The captain began to pace in the courtyard. He then squinted, his line of sight resting on the gate. He took a step forward.

In three seconds, he probably would've raised the alarm had Amy not rushed forward to crack a handy piece of wood over his head. She dusted off her hands as the captain fell to the ground in a heap. The Doctor blinked, "You didn't need to knock him out!"

"He saw the gate! He could've woken up the whole castle!" Amy huffed, crossing her arms.

"Fine, fine." The Doctor turned and sonicked the gate, smiling as it fell slowly and quietly to the ground.

"So…the strongmen have fallen ill…" Leonardo mused as they continued through the courtyard, pressed against the wall in shadow.

"By strongmen I assume you mean the creatures she's commanding," the Doctor clarified.

Leonardo nodded, "Yes."

"Well, that's good, right? Then we can't have creepy super-strong aliens on our tails," Amy grinned, following the two men.

"Hopefully," the Doctor nodded as well. His brow was furrowed in concentration, as if remembering. "There's a grate on this side…over here…I noticed it when we walked in. We ought to be able to crawl through it. It should lead to somewhere inside the castle."

There came a light thump behind them. "Yeah, that's how we got in last time."

The Doctor nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to see Brooke and Rory standing there, cloaked half in shadow. "Don't do that!" He hissed. His hearts were still pounding!

"Sorry," Brooke chuckled lowly. "So we'll crawl through the grate – I have a vague idea of where it leads."

"Let's go, then," Amy said, jerking her head towards the general direction the Doctor had indicated. The small group continued their way towards the inner wall of the castle. It was mostly unguarded, there were a few crossbowmen in the towers, and some guards at the main door…but other than that – nobody.

"Where is everyone?" Amy frowned, peering into the darkness.

"Probably looking for us," Rory murmured.

Finally they came to the intricate metal grate that was the only thing separated them from the rest of the castle. Rory kicked it in, resulting in a rather loud clang. The whole group started like a bunch of scared rabbits and looked around to see if anyone had heard.

"Genius." Amy huffed as the heavy footfalls of booted feet came running in their direction, along with excited shouts. The Doctor began to look around, his mind working at warp-speed to figure out a solution.

Brooke, apparently near as quick a thinker as the Doctor, was already loading her crossbow, her hands worked furiously to put the bolt into place and draw the string back. She then hauled herself up to the top of a low buttress and took aim.

The arrow whizzed through the air. Once, twice.

Two thumps quickly followed.

She swung down and landed with grimace, biting down on her lip to keep quiet from the pain. She really wished the nanogenes had been available when she was at the TARDIS. She limped over to them. "We should be fine now."

"I never did ask you where you learned to use a crossbow," the Doctor observed suddenly as Rory's behind disappeared through the opening in the wall, quickly followed by Amy's.

Brooke shrugged casually, "Met Robin Hood once."

"Really?" He looked intrigued as Brooke crawled through the drain.

"Yep! Come on, Doctor." Brooke sounded half amused, half annoyed. It was a tone that people always seemed to employ with him. He didn't like that tone. He much preferred it when _he _was the one using it.

He sighed and got down on his hands and knees and followed her, squeezing through the little doorway. Leonardo crawled in after him, trying to figure out how to keep the painting dry and shut the grate at the same time. He somehow managed it.

The Doctor made a face as his hands squished wrist deep in muck, the slime sucking around his fingers, dancing against it, massaging it. "Oh, this is disgusting," he whined, wrinkling his nose.

"I'm trying not to think about it," Amy murmured from ahead of him. An apple core and a lump of indistinguishable matter floated past her. She shuddered, fighting the urge to hold her breath against the foul fumes.

It took them a while, but they finally managed to slosh through the muck and emerge on the other side. The Doctor kept having to remind himself that this wasn't nearly as bad as starwhale sick, but sometimes he wasn't quite so sure of that. Amy shook herself off, trying not to speculate on what made up the slime on her body, hair, and clothes. God, it reeked!

"I get the shower first." Amy said, calling dibs.

Rory rolled his eyes, "Amy, I'm sure the TARDIS has more than one shower. It is bigger on the inside and all."

"I call dibs on the _nearest_ shower," Brooke said happily before the redhead could beat her to it.

Amy put her hands on her hips and huffed loudly, "Fine."

"We'd better hurry," the Doctor interrupted their momentary squabble, "we need to get there before she wakes."

Brooke crossed her arms and rolled her eyes like him like the teenage girl she was, but nodded and continued down the hall. It didn't take long before they happened upon two guards – it was quite obvious that their stench gave them away, because the guards turned before they even got within ten yards. Brooke pulled out a knife, "I can take the left- Rory, you take the right?"

Rory nodded and pulled out the sword he'd accumulated on this particular adventure, but the Doctor stopped them both. "We don't have to kill them! Just knock them out or something and toss them in a side room!"

Brooke deflated somewhat and whined, "Oh, you spoil everything!"

"Well excuse me for trying to find non-fatal forms of solving the situation!" The Doctor snorted.

Their momentary banter was all but forgotten when Rory fell to the floor, convulsing.


	36. Falling Inside The Black

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Ah, here we are! The climax! Hopefully it's exciting enough. My fingers were actually typing faster to keep up with the speed my mind was going at while I wrote this. I hope it's not too confusing or anything :/ Anyway! Come on in, sit down on the comfy chairs, and enjoy tea and Christmas-y cookies! :) I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to leave a review and grab an umbrella on your way out! It's raining pretty hard.

* * *

><p>35<p>

**Falling Inside the Black**

There was no way the guards hadn't heard the noises Rory was making as he writhed on the floor, holding his head in pain. The Doctor swallowed as he watched, helpless to do anything. There was nothing he could do to fix this. It was too late. The Mona Lisa had woken and taken back her control of the minds she'd had her fingers in. Brooke hadn't broken the psychic link between Rory and the Mona Lisa - she'd only knocked the alien out. The Doctor needed to be able to get to the Mona Lisa if he was going to manage to break the link and get her safely inside the TRL.

Amy rushed over to Rory, crying his name. She looked up at the Doctor with eyes that told him to do something, to fix it, to make it better like he always did. The heavy, booted footsteps of soldiers were coming alarmingly close. The Doctor thought fast, picked up a bench by the wall, and effectively beaned two of them in the head just as they rounded the corner. He whirled and focused his attentions on Rory and Amy while Brooke took care of the rest in a mad dance of ducking and stabbing.

Brooke charged headlong at the four or five soldiers. She knew she was at a disadvantage. Her only weapons were her crossbow and bolts and her fists, and she had one bad leg. Still, hefted the heavy weight of the oak crossbow in both hands and swung it like a club, catching a guard on his temple and knocking him stone-cold to the ground. She quickly whipped a bolt out, ducking the swing of a sword as she plunged it into a second soldier's chest. He gasped, choking and wheezing. She whirled and caught a third with the edge of her crossbow, knocking him off balance as she pulled the bolt from the soldier's chest and then drove it into the third soldier's jugular. The fourth was smart, he went for her leg. She gasped at as flesh collided with flesh. Sharp pain caused her to stand there in a momentary haze.

Rory's eyes closed as the Doctor rushed forward. "No, no, no!" he exclaimed, grabbing Amy by the arm. "Amy, you have to get away, now, please Pond, come along, Pond!"

Tearing her away from Rory was like trying to pick up a sleeping cat. Leonardo had to come help. The Doctor turned to get a visual on Brooke as Rory stood to his feet, unsheathing his sword. The Doctor swallowed.

Brooke felt arms grab her and pull her into a side passageway. Then, she was aware of running, being half dragged across the slippery stone of the floor as the Doctor, Amy, and Leonardo ran with her. She came to her senses slowly as the fog of pain was cleared by rushing adrenaline. She glanced back, her eyes widening. "Where's Rory?" she demanded as the Doctor rushed down the steps.

"Ah, Roranicus Pond! He's currently after us with a sword!" the Doctor shouted back as if it was somehow a marvelous and wonderful notion. Of course, that was his way of deflecting the gravity of the situation.

His mind was working at top speed as Brooke shouted off directions to the room she'd left the Mona Lisa in. All he need was to touch her. One touch was all it took to break the psychic link and transfer her mind into the TRL. Somehow, getting his hands on a dangerous alien always proved to be more difficult than it actually should be. He huffed irately at that.

They finally made it down the hall and to the door. The Doctor threw his weight against, it, pushing it in and closing it behind him against the mob of soldiers that was after them.

"Quick, grab things to block it!" he urged. It was a mad rush to get swords, halberds, vases, tables, benches, chairs... anything that could stop the crowd from coming in and giving them a moment with the Mona Lisa.

"Well, well, well...look who showed up."

The Doctor turned slowly as Brooke put one last spear against the door. There the Mona Lisa stood, in all of her renaissance glory. Her eyes pierced his, that smirk on her face. She wrapped her arms around herself, disturbingly calm as the door rattled ferociously behind the group. The Doctor folded his hands. He could still give her a second chance- a chance to leave the planet. He needed to try.

"You smile as if you know something I don't," he replied.

"I know many things you don't, Doctor," she took an apple from the fruit bowl, casually tossing it in the air and taking a bite, letting the clear juice dribble down her chin. The Doctor made a gagging noise.

Brooke stepped forward. "Let's just do it now, while we have the chance!"

The Doctor put a steadying hand on her arm. "Not yet, Brooke." He turned to the Mona Lisa. "You have two choices. You can leave now and never come back, or you can stay and be imprisoned for the rest of your life."

The Mona Lisa crossed her arms bemusedly, that sly grin widening even further. "You're in no position to give me ultimatums, Time Lord. In a few minutes, my strongmen will have come and broken down the door, and it'll you that'll be at my mercy."

"No, I don't think so," the Doctor smiled cheekily. "You see, all I have to do is touch you, you know that. You're a touch-psychic yourself. That's how you control your henchmen, is it not?"

She circled him like a cat with a mouse. Brooke was alert next to the Doctor, her graceful lines rippling with tension as she gripped a bolt between her fingers. Amy and Leonardo took a step behind the Doctor, and the Time Lord's stance widened aggressively. The Mona Lisa laughed, a deep, horrible, throaty sound. "Time Lords - The gods who had Time at their fingertips, who commanded it at the snap of their fingers. The gods who lit the stars and caused them to shine." She turned to him. "And you, Doctor, a great warrior. The Oncoming Storm, the one who has made whole worlds burn. The one whose screams of his own people filled his ears. Gallifrey, sacred spheres, the Red Haven-" The Doctor swallowed, his eyes filling with pain, guilt, and anger as he watched her silently, standing there with all the regality of a great cat. She continued, "Nameless one who can make whole armies just turn and run away...and here you are, locked inside my bedchamber with nothing but a TRL and a few incompetent friends to help you."

"I see you've done your homework, then," Brooke murmured angrily. The Doctor pressed a finger to his own lips to shush her.

He smiled politely at the Mona Lisa, "If you know me that well, you ought to know that it's very unwise to put me in between a rock and a hard place, Mona Lisa." He took a step forward. "So, I'm going to give you one. Last. Chance. Leave, or be imprisoned for the rest of your miserable life." She'd caused the pain of the people he loved, and that was not a safe place to be.

The Mona Lisa stiffened. "No."

With that, the Doctor lunged for her. The door broke down. Brooke whirled, loading her crossbow quick as she could. There had to be at least ten, four of which were the strongmen. They were led by Rory. Brooke didn't have a chance, but she had to try.

The Mona Lisa threw a vase at the Doctor. He ducked just in time. The two of them locked horns, the Doctor using his screwdriver, the Mona Lisa using whatever article around the room she could find as the two of them wound through the twisting, roving mass of soldiers. She was making her way to the door, he had to stop her.

Amy thought quick and grabbed the heaviest blunt object she could see. She swung it around her like a madwoman. With a crack, the object collided with the leg of one of the soldiers. He howled in pain. Brooke put a bolt through his chest to finish him off and Amy smiled at her. "Not bad."

"Yeah, you too," Brooke nodded breathlessly before turning to fend off another. He swung for her head, she ducked, grabbed his arm, and twisted it behind his back. He dropped the sword and she sent a swift kick to his leg, knocking his feet out from under him. Brooke twisted his neck to an unnatural angle and moved on to the next one.

The Doctor and Leonardo chased the Mona Lisa up a winding staircase. She was still screaming and finding things to tear down and get in their way. A heavy curtain came crashing down, and the Doctor quickly grabbed the inventor by the collar and flattened against the cool stone wall as the rod and fabric rolled down the stairs. He then continued up.

It was a losing battle in the Mona Lisa's bedchamber. Adrenaline only lasted so long and Brooke was nearly to her knees in pain as she just kept attacking guard after guard. They seemed to be never ending. Amy was a bit of a help, but she wasn't a trained fighter. She could only knock them out at best. They quickly found themselves backed up against a wall, quite literally, as Brooke fired bolt after bolt and Amy battled them back with her makeshift club. A soldier got close enough to grab Brooke by her hair. She gasped as her head was yanked forcibly back. Quickly, she twisted in his arms, elbowing him in the stomach and then cracking his jaw with an uppercut to the chin. She rammed a bolt into his stomach and pulled it out, still taking great gasps of breath. Sweat dripped down her forehead, pain throbbed through her leg. Amy did the best she could to help. A swing to the left knocked a guard back a foot or two to the unforgiving floor. She didn't get another swing. Her club was stopped by a strong hand. She turned to see Rory, that smirk painted on his face as if he was a clown at a carnival. Amy's eyes widened to the size of small grapefruits as he wrenched the club from her raw and bleeding hands.

The wind rushed in the Doctor's ears as he burst out of a trap door and onto the top of a high tower. The Mona Lisa's back was to the low wall that circled the column of stone. Leonardo came after him, wheezing as he heaved himself and the painting onto the wooden floor. The Doctor took several, careful steps toward the alien.

"You've got no options, so surrender," he said, out of breath.

"I would rather die," she spat back. Her eyes were wide, wide with fear but also with anger and hatred.

"I really don't want to condemn you to a life alone, trust me. I wouldn't wish that on anyone," he murmured, still making his way to her inch by agonizing inch.

She glanced behind her, breathing heavily. The ground was so very far away. The people on it looked like mere ants crawling around. The carts and horses were just a child's playthings. Her fingers gripped the edge of the cold, hard stone and she turned to look at the Doctor. For a moment, he saw something...almost human in her eyes. It was an icy terror, the terror of being trapped and without help, condemned to live out the rest of her days in solitary confinement or return to her people in shame. He knew that feeling and it broke his heart.

She swallowed. "Doctor, there's always a third option... and I think-" her breathing was coming in short gasps now. Her face was white as parchment, "I think I'm going to take it."

He jumped for her just as she let go and fell into thin air.

"No!" His arms closed on oxygen molecules and the Doctor stood there on the edge of the tower, horrified as her form crunched into moor and pavement below. His eyes squeezed shut and he looked away, not bearing to look, his hearts twisting in his chest.

Amy watched as the strongmen fell to the floor among the bodies of the slain soldiers. Their normal comrades, now no longer so brave now that their leaders were gone, were fleeing. Her knees hit the floor as she cradled Rory's head in her hands. Blood oozed onto her fingers from the back of his skull where he'd hit it.

Thick tears burned at the corners of Brooke's vision as she knelt slowly as well, taking his hand and scrambling to find the pulse. She prayed he wasn't dead.

Reassuringly, the steady throb of blood through veins greeted her fingers. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and grabbed at a cloth to press to the back of his head. "He's going to be okay - just unconscious."

Amy looked up at her, swallowing. "What- what happened?"

She could only shake her head in response. "I don't know."

Someone entered the room, and the pair looked up. There the Doctor stood, a melancholy look on his face. "It's done," he whispered. There was no triumph in his voice.

Brooke stood, her face pinched. "What happened?" she repeated Amy's earlier question.

"She took her own life," Leonardo supplied, squeezing in through the door and rolling up the painting. "I suppose I might as well name the painting and set it on my wall for later."

"Oh," Brooke gulped.

Amy caught the Doctor's eyes as she glanced between Leonardo and her Raggedy Man. There was something very unpleasant in his gaze. His face was drawn and he looked a hundred years older. When he caught her gaze and realized how worried she was, a melancholy smile lit up his face. "Let's go back to the TARDIS, shall we?"

After returning to the TARDIS, saying their goodbyes to Leonardo Da Vinci, and patching Rory up, the three returned to the Louvre. Slowly, the Doctor walked up to the painting of the Mona Lisa, inspecting it, letting his eyes rest on the corner of the left eye. No tear.

"Looks like time got rewritten," Brooke murmured.

The Doctor glanced around and sonicked the painting. Yes, there was no alien inside. Just one, very empty, TRL. "Yeah," he whispered, his throat constricting violently as he looked away from them, fighting tears of guilt that burned at the corners of his vision.

Amy looked at him, her eyebrows knitting together. "It wasn't your fault, you know - that she died."

Rory agreed with her, "Her choice, Doctor."

"It wasn't really." The Doctor looked up at his friends, his eyes filled with acid and ice. He knew the choice he'd asked her to make - he knew what it felt like to be so, utterly alone for hundreds of years. He also knew that if he had been offered the same choice, then perhaps he would have done the same thing.

He clapped his hands, forcing the emotions back and returning to giddy Doctor mode. "Well! Now that that's done, another day finished, earth saved once again... how about we go to a park?"

Rory wrinkled his nose, "A park?"

"Sorry, Raggedy Man, but Rory and I are going to head home for a bit."

Oh. The Doctor nodded, his face falling just slightly, "Right, I'll take you there. Brooke? Where do you need to go?" He turned to hear Brooke's answer, but none came.

Brooke was gone.


	37. All She Had

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Woohoo! An update on time because I'm finally done with school for Christmas break! Take _that_, finals! Guess what, it was even done early and I nearly posted it early, too! Anyway, you guys are going to love this one - and probably flip out a bit. If you do, then I did my job. ;) Anyway, enough of that because it's bound to lead to spoilers, and River would frown on me giving too much away. Well, there's a fire going in that fireplace I totally own, and a whole new tin of Christmas cookies! Tea, Hot Chocolate, and Coffee as usual, with the addition of eggnog if any of you would fancy some! So come on in, settle down in the purple comfy chairs, and enjoy this next installment! Don't forget to leave a review on your way out, reviews truly always make my day.

* * *

><p>36<p>

**All She Had**

Brooke landed in the darkened library. She knew it was dangerous. She also knew she hadn't much time. It had been early to leave the Doctor, Amy, and Rory. She would've liked to stay with them a little longer - but this was more important. The siren was blaring: "Auto Destruct in Five Minutes."

It was time.

By her counting, she had exactly three to do what she had come to do, what she needed to do, what she'd been planning to do for a very, very long time. A secret plan, shrouded by lies and cover ups and excuses. This had to work, Brooke knew it was time. Her Doctor had said so. So, she would do this. She trusted him. He may lie, but he wouldn't lie about something like this. Brooke took a deep breath, taking a second or two to assess the situation. It would be a quick run down a few flights of stairs, and then she would need to sneak quietly into the core of the library to program the computer to do what she wanted.

She ran down the halls, avoiding the small group of astronauts panicking in one of the rooms nearby. They couldn't know she was here. The air rushed in her ears as she grabbed the side of the wall, curbing her momentum as she swung to the left and down a flight of stairs. Just a little further. She vaguely wondered how quickly she could program a computer. It couldn't be too hard, right? After all, this data core had been made for the mind of a child. Brooke dodged around bookshelves on the next floor down, running to the next flight of stairs. Why couldn't they have made them all in succession, instead of spreading them out across the Library? The shadows were closing in, she could see them. She didn't have much time. This was going to be one of the most important, most significant things she would ever do with her life. She couldn't botch it up. Not now.

It was then that she heard it,

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

A cold shiver ran down Brooke's spine.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" It repeated. She turned to see the stuff of nightmares standing before her, the shadow filled space-suit, the skeletal skull grimacing out at her while it slowly took a step, and another, and another, towards her fear-filled frame.

Daleks: shot to the eyestalk, Sontarans: back of the neck, Vashta Nerada: Run.

Brooke gulped and then spun on her heel, making for the next flight of stairs. She kept speeding, down the steps, through the halls, and into the very belly of the Library, not daring to look behind her.

She stopped just short of the room, of River's tomb. She could already see the woman beginning to plug herself into the computer. That unfamiliar regeneration- the Tenth Doctor, the proud, spastic one, was now handcuffed and lying listlessly on the floor. Brooke smiled at that. River did always like handcuffs. She shook the thoughts from her head, creeping along the edge of the walls. She knew River could sense things easily - especially her. Her foot scuffed on the edge of a metal grate, and Brooke mentally muttered ancient curses, praying she wouldn't alert the Time Lady to her presence.

River looked up, frowning, listening. Brooke tensed, waiting with baited breath, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She couldn't know she was here either, it would cause a paradox – things, things wouldn't work out the way they were supposed to if River knew what was going to happen. The stakes were too high… Thankfully, River returned to her task allowing Brooke to return to hers. She continued on the edge of the wall, staying in the shadow, even though she knew it was dangerous and risky to do so. Her breath caught in her throat as she prayed that none of them were moving. She hadn't come this far to fail now.

Finally, she made it to the other end of the computer. She pulled out her sonic, grateful it had a silent mode, and began to preprogram River's executioner. A few whacks there, the press of a blue button, type a new command code in there- and brilliant! Brooke smiled, pleased with herself. River's body would be sent to a nearby planet. The coordinates were still in Brooke's new vortex manipulator. If she worked fast enough, there would be a tiny window of time when she could still save her. A whisper of River Song would be in the computer, yes, but the real River Song would be very much alive and well.

She pressed herself flat against the edge of the computer as the countdown continued. Quietly as she could, she brought up the carefully saved coordinates on her vortex manipulator and vortexed to the planet. The hot, burning sun was a strange contrast to the cool darkness of the Library.

Brooke waited.

Two minutes passed, then three, then five. Brooke was getting agitated, panic building in her heart. What if it didn't work? She'd…she'd made a promise to herself. She wasn't going to let River die. Not here, not now. She was the only one that knew the Doctor's name, and by god Brooke was certainly not going to let River die in a time when the Doctor didn't know her. River was not going to die forgotten and alone, Brooke wanted to be sure of that. River was not going to die heartbroken. She was not going to be imprisoned in a computer. That, to River, was a fate worse than death. River Song, who could walk out of Stormcage with a snap of her fingers and a smooch of hallucinogenic lipstick; River Song, who could take down armies of Silence with her blaster; River Song, who could fly the TARDIS even when it was stuck at the burning core of the Universe; River Song, who could override everything she'd been programmed to do to save the Doctor's life more times than could be counted… yes, River Song couldn't be imprisoned in a computer. It was unthinkable.

A body materialized on the sand and Brooke gave a startled mewl. She rushed forward, adrenaline seeping into her veins. Her heart nearly stopped as she cradled River's lifeless form in her arms. It was macabre to see her like this, she who was normally so lively, so pale and deadened. Her eyes were closed peacefully, however. Her left cheek was still wet from the hot tears she'd shed. Brooke took the cuff of her sleeve and dabbed at it, feeling her throat constrict.

No, she couldn't grieve. Not while River had a chance. The window of opportunity was close, but it would close fast. Brooke took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was now or never.

She focused all of her being on the creature in her arms, every bit of her for River. She delved deep into her soul, found the part of her that loved River more than anything – and focused it through her limbs. Long disused embers stirred to flame, heating her very soul. It spread through her being, tingling and burning, scorching now. It needled in her fingertips.

Golden light fled from Brooke into River.

River's eyes shot open, and she gasped with new life.

"Brooke… don't you _dare_."

Brooke could only smile weakly before pure life overtook them both. "Hello, mum."


	38. Revelations

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) Merry belated Christmas and a happy New Year!** I hope you guys are enjoying the season as much as I am. I recently got a new laptop that I'm quite pleased with - so I now have the luxury of having a writing/school laptop and a play laptop. Hopefully this'll keep me more on task :P Anyway, yaaay, new update on time again! I'm on a roll. Let's hope I don't break it! This chapter for some reason was extremely difficult to get right. We're on to the final plotline of this fic, so buckle in, ladies and gents! Get your cup of tea/coffee/whatever and grab a cookie (we really need help eating up these bucketloads of Christmas cookies!) and enjoy! Don't forget to leave a review on your way out, of course. :)

* * *

><p>37<p>

**Revelations**

Here he was, in a park, sitting on a bench, alone. The Doctor scuffed his feet in the dry leaves as the wind blew through his hair. The sky was a clear blue, smooth, like an upside-down bowl upon the earth. What year was it, anyway? He didn't even know. It was in the 90s, twentieth century definitely. He sighed and scratched his cheek and walked over to the swings. The park was empty, mostly. There were a few of the odd children around, their parents having coffee. He swung idly for a few moments and then decided that was just boring without anyone else around to talk to. He missed his Ponds.

Then, his eyes caught a wisp of blonde curls – and then a cloud of brown ones.

"Doctor!" Brooke looked confused as she and River walked up to him, "What the hell are you doing here?"

The Doctor frowned, wondering when they were, exactly. "Can't I be at a park?"

River caught his arm, stopping his idle swinging. "You have to go."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. He was tired and just about had had enough of all their shenanigans. He just wanted some downtime from his adventures. Was that too much to ask? "Okay, sorry, Doctor not following, Doctor very confused. What? Why do I have to go? What's wrong with being at a park?" he demanded.

Brooke swallowed. "Look, we're not supposed to be here either. Vortex manipulator slipped. We're all crossing our own time-streams – we have to go, where's the TARDIS?"

He jerked his thumb behind him. "That way."

The autumn wind rustled their hair as they walked. Brooke and River seemed agitated. What was wrong? What was going on? Where had they come from? Both of them seemed out of breath. Something was definitely not right here, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Then, he realized that he'd lost a bit of time. First, they were by the swings, and now suddenly they were by the doggy-bag dispenser. His brow furrowed and he stopped.

"What's wrong?" River asked.

"I'm not quite sure..." he trailed off and looked at her. River's eyes widened. "Doctor..."

"What?"

She swallowed hard. "There's three black tick marks on your face."

His heart began to thud in his chest. "The Silence are here."

Brooke grabbed his arm and began pulling him in the direction of the TARDIS. "Now we really have to go. We're out of time!"

"Out of time for what?!" he asked again, looking between him and River.

River could only shrug. "Spoilers, my love."

He took a step towards River, staring down into those green eyes and that hair full of secrets. She took a step backward, but held his gaze. "Why?" he repeated. "Why are the Silence here, of all places, what do they want?"

"Spoilers." River whispered again.

God, she infuriated him! He clenched his teeth and turned again, stalking toward the TARDIS. He could see it just down the street. "Alright, alright, fine. You and your Spoilers. The TARDIS is this way, let's just all walk back there with a big red target painted on our backs. Hello! I'm the Doctor! I'm not supposed to exist! I'm dead! And you, Doctor Song, are supposed to be in Stormcage, locked away, for murdering me!"

Why was he so angry today? He didn't know. Perhaps it was because he didn't have the Ponds. Perhaps it was because he was fed up with her secrets. However, he knew he'd gone to far when he didn't hear footsteps behind him.

He turned to see that River had stopped in her tracks, looking at him with an unfathomable, wet expression in her eyes. His throat constricted and Brooke glared at him, crossing her arms. He finally asked, "When are you, River?"

"Bout bloody time you asked," Brooke muttered.

"Also Spoilers," River murmured.

He frowned. "What? How- no, we don't have spoilers in this conversation! If you've lived it, I have! When are you?"

"That's just it, Doctor," Brooke said quietly, "She's lived what you haven't yet."

He took another step to them. "That's impossible," he breathed.

"It's not." River gave him a soft smile. "Wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey."

He looked down at her again, noticing for the first time the telltale lines around her eyes, the beautiful lines that told her history. The age in her eyes...that was there. She was old. Much older than he'd ever seen her...except...

Except at the Library.

That same look had been in her eyes when she'd asked him if they were good after she'd told him his name. The same lines had been etched in her face. The same worries and fears and happiness and joy. This was a very, very old River Song. How old, he didn't know. All he knew that she had to be close to the Library. She was close to dying. A new anger rose in him because he knew that he couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop her from going. If he let her go now, if he took her somewhere, it may very well be the last trip she ever took with him, and it wouldn't even be her Doctor.

How long he stood there, staring at her, he didn't know. It probably seemed rude and out-of-character to Brooke and River. He didn't care. But one, terrified, girlish scream brought him out of his thoughts.

"Daddy!"

River flinched.

Brooke's eyes closed. "Too late."

He looked up to see tall, suited forms gathering up a screaming little girl with the reddest hair he'd ever seen. She was looking straight at him, arms flailing, reaching, blue eyes wide with fright, while the bystanders were helpless to act.

Without thinking, he broke into a run toward her. Both River and Brooke grabbed him. "We can't!"

He wrenched out of River's grasp and she fell back. He whirled on both of them, eyes blazing as the child was carried of by the Silents. "What the hell do you mean we _can't?_ They're taking that child! River, you know what they could do to her!"

Electricity burned behind him. He could hear the screams of the park-goers, and above them, the shrieks of the captured as the autumn wind howled in the sky over it all. His form was tense, his jaw set, eyes cold. He had to go, he had to fix, he had to save.

"We have to go!" Brooke repeated desperately, tears pooling in her eyes, her face stricken.

"We can't just let them-"

"Yes!" Brooke screamed, her eyes filling with tears, her voice thick, "You have to!" She let out a strangled sob, "Because time cannot be rewritten, you said so yourself! This is all of our time-lines, Doctor, if you change just one line, somebody is going to cease to be who they are!"

River wasn't looking at anybody. She just stared at the ground, tears welling in her eyes as the Silents made out of the park with the little red-haired girl.

The Doctor shook his head. "Time can be rewritten." He shook her off, not able to think straight as he broke into a run. He whipped his screwdriver from his pocket. He didn't have a plan, no rules, no thoughts. Right now, he didn't even care about bloody _time_. There was an innocent child at stake who wouldn't be innocent for long if he let them take her.

Brooke pelted after him, loading her gun as she went. "Doctor! Have you gone mad?"

Mad? Wasn't he a madman with a box? He shook his head and continued after the Silents, quickly over-taking them and socking the first in the face. He wasn't prepared for the amount of Silents there actually were, nor for the electricity that coursed through his body seconds later, making his world go dark as he sank to his knees.


	39. Old Enemies, Old Haunts

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Wow, I realize it's been literally forever since I've updated and I apologize. I really have no excuse other than the fact that a new term has started for me and these chapters have been really difficult for me to write for some odd reason - even though they have my favorite villain in them! Ah well, it's up now and that's what matters. I hope you guys enjoy it! And I should see you all next week with a new chapter! :) Don't forget to leave a review on your way out!

* * *

><p>36<p>

**Old Enemies, Old Haunts**

When the Doctor came to, everything hurt. Ropes dug into his wrists and he could feel the sting from raw burns on his body. His muscles ached from convulsing and he winced as he tested the restraints. Twisting this way and that, he only succeeded in inflaming the chafing in the delicate skin of his wrists further. He couldn't see anything, either. He couldn't smell anything but a faint musk, and the only things he could feel were the chair he was seated in, the floor under his feet, and the restraints keeping him there. His bowtie was gone too - peachy. What could he hear?

His brow furrowed in concentration and he bit his lip, straining for any sound. He was met with two. The first reassured him: a steady breathing. The second made one of his hearts shudder: a sickening, rumbling purr of a sound. It was the trill of the Silence. He recognized it easily. This was very not good, very not good indeed.

Now that he thought about it, though, there were more sounds too. Footfalls, wind rustling outside - and - and something that seemed to waft on it. No, not quite on the wind. It sounded almost like it was running along passageways, pattering across the floors, rustling through doors and windows. It was inside the place. It was a song sung by a very young singer.

A chill set upon him when he realized that he recognized that voice.

Memories of that old house assaulted his senses. Crayon-covered walls, metal spiders, that little head of brown curls that was now so grown up...

His thoughts were allowed to go no further when bright light burst into the room like a bolt of lightning.

Once his eyes had adjusted to the brightness, he realized a few things. Chiefly, the room was covered in Silence. Secondly, Brooke was at his left. Thirdly, he knew the woman standing in front of him right now and only felt hatred and anger for her.

"Kovarian," he drawled out through gritted teeth.

That sick smile was on her face as she took her seat, pulling off her black leather gloves and tossing them carelessly to the side. Her eyedrive glinted in the white overhead lights and she sat back triumphantly. "It's a pleasure, Doctor."

"Can't say I feel the same way," he growled before demanding, "What do you want with Brooke? Why's she so important to you?"

For a moment, she seemed to stare at him oddly. Then, she started in her chair and a low gasp emitted from her lungs. A gasp of surprise - perhaps shock. It hinted at something else too - a thrill? "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" he snapped irately, fingers curling on the chair.

Kovarian began to chuckle lowly in her throat, shaking her head and muttering to herself, "Melody, my clever, clever girl..."

A horrible feeling settled into the pit of the Doctor's stomach. He was missing something very important here and he knew it. He looked at Brooke. Her head was bowed as she refused to meet his gaze.

"Know what?" he repeated softly, his eyes wide. Brooke simply pursed her lips and shook her head.

As he continued to look at her, frowning in confusion and trying to figure out what piece of this puzzle he was missing, Kovarian stood from her chair and walked to Brooke. The teenager flinched as the older woman ran her fingers through her prisoner's hair, smiling quietly. "Congratulations, Doctor, it's a girl."

The statement hit him like a bricks made of lightning. He looked at Brooke, who looked at him with watery, wide eyes, and he felt every part of his senses become inflamed. His right heart quaked, then his left heart shuddered. Everything made sense now.

And she even had River's curls.

He glared up at Kovarian, who was still petting Brooke's hair condescendingly. She continued on, not paying attention to the Doctor's shock. "Oh, and congratulations to you, little Brookie-" Brooke cringed at the nickname, her gaze flicking to the floor, "- looks like your programming worked out perfectly."

The Doctor's gaze whipped up to that hateful woman. "Programming?" he breathed in horror. When he looked back at Brooke, her eyes were filling with hot, angry, ashamed tears.

She shook her head helplessly. Her voice was thick with tears. "It's not that, I swear. I didn't-"

"Of course you did," Kovarian tapped her nose and leaned to her head on Brooke's shoulder, looking back at the Doctor, poison in her gaze and venom dripping from her words. "You led him right to me."

He didn't know what to think right now. On the one hand, he didn't want to believe Kovarian. On the other hand - he knew what her training did to people. River was proof enough of that. Brooke simply stared at him, pleading with her wet blue eyes for him not to believe her. It stole his breath away how much she looked like her mother.

She hadn't though. She hadn't led him to Kovarian. She'd been trying to get him away from her. Like River, if she really was programmed to kill him - then she was going against her training. Kovarian was lying. Why should he be surprised?

"If you'd meant to kill me you would've already," he snapped. "So get on with it."

"Doctor, Doctor-" she chuckled, "_I'm_ not going to kill you, Brooke is."

"No I'm not." Brooke contradicted, glaring at her. "And I'm going to play the teenage girl card and say that you can't make me, either."

If the Doctor was proud of her, it didn't last long. A slap rang out through the room and crimson blood trickled from Brooke's nose. Kovarian circled the room quietly while the Doctor sat there, fuming.

She'd hurt the people he cared about.

That was not a safe place to be.

Brooke gave him a small smile through the blood, then mouthed something.

_Fish fingers and Custard._

The Doctor smiled.

"I'll give you both a choice," Kovarian said finally. Brooke rolled her eyes. "Brooke, you can kill the Doctor and I'll let you go free - or- you can refuse to kill him, and you both die." She smiled, "Either way, I win." She stood and snapped her fingers. The door to the room was opened. "I'll give you a day to decide - and don't worry, I'll be back before then if I get bored." She chuckled and walked out, heels clacking on the floor.

The Doctor looked at Brooke, and Brooke looked at the Doctor, and the Doctor whispered to her, "You have to kill me."


	40. Ghosts of the Past

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Here we are, a new chapter! My week's been mildly hectic, what about yours? I'm getting over a bit of a cold, so that wasn't fun - but thanks to the cold I had extra time to write! Anyway, this chapter is...well... basically *dramatic music* and the plot thickens! *end dramatic music*. Again, I really apologize for my fight scenes. I know they're quite rubbish but I'm bad at writing them and find them very difficult. I tried. *sigh*. Grab a cookie and a cup of tea and sit down and enjoy this! I'll see you all next week - don't forget to leave a review! :)

39

**Ghosts of the Past**

A breeze ran its fingers through River's mussed curls as she knelt in the deserted park. Her fingers grasped at a pile of leaves, wet and musky. They sifted through her hands like so much fine dust, and the lump in her throat grew impossibly. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

She'd just lost her daughter for the second time.

She allowed her chest a moment or two, feeling both of her hearts clench painfully. She sucked in crisp autumn air that stripped her throat, causing it to burn. She took another deep breath through her nose. Time was up. Enough grieving.

River forced herself up.

Her mind switched like a train on tracks to pure business: a hall of weaponry, statistics, tactics, and strategy. She drew her handgun. The cold press of hard metal was a reassuring comfort that calmed her heart-rate and hardened both hearts to glittering steel. Her eyes scanned the horizon, a plan forming in her head. She pulled out one of her gadgets, a scanner, and lithely input a few coordinates that would put her on the map. Dragging her fingers across the screen she expanded the search radius and then input: "_Find Time Energy Signature" _into the machine. The screen lit up with two large blips. One was near her location, she assumed it to be the TARDIS, fresh out of the Time Vortex. The other would have to be the Silence's hideout.

A smug smirk tugged at the left corner of her mouth. "Gotcha."

She started down the street towards the blip. Her eyes scanned the buildings, wide, hardened to pebbles of jade and searching. She was surprised by how deserted it seemed. The buildings were dilapidated. Bricks were falling off of walls, awnings were waterlogged and sagging. The streets were worn, with ruts and ditches that were filled with mud. River frowned. This was not how she remembered this section of town being. However... it was 2024, after all. River had lived on the opposite side of town. The Doctor had insisted he knew of this great park that he could take Brooke. But now that she thought of it, she remembered how his eyes had held a sadness. They had seemed even more old than usual. River grit her teeth when she realized that he must have known what would happen today, and that he couldn't stop it.

_Just like the Library._

She inhaled sharply through her nose, banishing all thoughts of that god-forsaken place as she passed a boarded up house that looked rather like a drunk, sleeping puppy. It leaned a bit to the left and its once-white bricks were now rather brownish and grimy-looking. If River had been paying attention to the house itself, rather than the blip on the screen that she was nearing, she would have noticed the peeling TARDIS-blue front door.

River lost a few seconds. She hadn't the faintest clue as to where they went, but suddenly she was at the end of an alley, breathing hard, facing some metal trashcans and boarded up windows. The air smelled foul but she couldn't help but suck in great gasps of it. Her hearts were pounding at breakneck speed and she could feel the tell-tale whiz of adrenaline rushing through her system. What had just happened?

She frowned, confused, looking around herself before she realized something. Her gaze flicked slowly to her arm.

Seven black tick marks.

Her hearts stopped.

A rippling, evil purr of a sound met her ears, coming from a few feet behind her. She pursed her lips, hearing the slow, deliberate footsteps that accompanied it. Her feet found a sure footing on the dirt of the alley, she took deep breaths, closing her eyes, centering herself. Her finger found the trigger. Using only her ears, she calculated the location of the Silent. Her arm raised, her finger pressed the trigger, and she shot the first one right over her shoulder.

River whirled. One down, six more to go. A blast of electricity met her where she stood, and she ducked. Firing another shot into the offending silent. Two down, five more to go. It fell to the ground with a sharp howl.

She launched herself to the right when another bolt of electricity snaked after her. Falling into a roll, she hit the side of the building and righted herself, breathing heavily. She was momentarily off-balance and the Silent in the corner saw its chance.

There came a blinding flash of white, electric light in River's eyes. Pain seared up her arm and she was forced to drop her gun. The metal clattered to the ground, smoking and hissing. Her hand was burning. She whimpered and put it to her mouth, looking around for some sort of defense as the next Silent raised his arm, that mouth widening into a sickening 'o'.

Her eyes caught the plank of wood lying in the alley. She grabbed it, pushing back the pain as it splintered into her burned hand. Another bolt of electricity. She caught it on the edge of the board.

It worked well enough as a shield. River ran to the other side of the alley, behind broken table as she reached to her boot for her smaller gun. She was fumbling, and she knew it. She couldn't afford to fumble! A blast hit the wall above her with a resounding crack. River ducked and yelped, finally getting her gun out. She sent a round into another Silent, watching in satisfaction as it fell to the ground.

She was just about to fire into the last three when there was the blinding glint of sunlight on metal and a horrible yell. A sqelch, and the head of one went flying. River squinted, and her mouth dropped open when she recognized none other than her _dad_ in a hideous jumper, wielding a broadsword which he jammed into the chest of the Silent to his left. His hair was all a mess, like he'd just fallen out of bed and his shoelaces weren't even tied.

Whatever semblance of heroism he'd had in his daughter's eyes soon melted when the sword got jammed in the Silent's chest. He frowned, muttering irately as he gave it several violent jerks. The other Silent would have had him, had it not been for River shooting its head clean off.

She scrambled up and ran over as Rory managed to pull the sword free.

He gave her a shy smile, letting the tip of the sword hit the dust and his jumper hang lopsided. He ran a hand through his hair and then waved, the much-too-long sleeve flopping around as he did so.

"Hello, River."

She gaped like a fish for a few moments, her heart clenching painfully in her chest. She realized suddenly that her eyes were wide and dampened as she stared at him and she let out some sort of strangled noise and then managed lowly, "Hello, Rory." She floundered for a few moments before finally asking, "W-where's the Doctor...and Amy? When are you?"

"Uhm- just after Berlin, actually," he shrugged, "The Doctor brought us home for a bit – we haven't seen him in months, why?" his brow furrowed in confusion.

River's nose wrinkled. She blinked at him. This...this was impossible. "You...but... you didn't get here in the TARDIS?"

Rory frowned at her and then pointed to the ground. "River, we live here. Now."

She fell a step back. Her throat constricted. This really was impossible. Something, somewhere, was very, very wrong, because it was 2024. He couldn't possibly have gotten here without time-travel. In her time-line, it was after Manhattan. By her time-line, Rory had been dead for twelve years.


	41. The Staircase

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Here you guys go, an off-schedule update! It's a little bit early only because I feel so awful about leaving you guys hanging with such a big plot twist for so long. So, yay, you guys get to profit on my own personal guilt trip! Anyway - Chapter 40, can you believe it? I seriously never thought I'd go this far with this fic, but the plot has a mind of it's own! It's twisted and developed in ways I never imagined it could - and I must admit I'm pantsing a little bit on this one. It's practically writing itself! Anyway, you guys ought to see all the threads come together - I'll be interested in hearing your theories. ;) So, sit down with the hot drink of your choice, put up your feet, and enjoy this next installment! I'll be seeing you guys next week (or maybe the week after that - don't worry, I make a point never to go beyond three weeks without updating - okay, that sounds horrible, I know *huffs at self*) ANYWAY. I'll shut up now. Read, relish, review!

* * *

><p>40<p>

**The Staircase**

"Doctor, I'm not killing you." Brooke kept her voice even, her eyes were wide and her lips pursed, the skin around them taut.

"You have to," he repeated. He was far from the level of calm Brooke was managing. River was already going to die for him. He was not about to let Brooke - let their daughter - make the same sacrifice. He would die first.

"You can't make me!" she shouted back, shaking her head and struggling against her bonds as if she could break free and run away and never look back.

The Doctor huffed. This was for the best! He deserved to die, couldn't she see that? Brooke still had so long to live - she wasn't past her third regeneration. He was so old, so tired, so corrupted and broken. Couldn't she see that this would be the right thing to do? "I'm your father and I say you will," he snapped, completely unaware of how ridiculous that might sound.

"I'm not going to murder you!" Brooke continued to squirm in her seat, the binds visibly tearing into her skin. "Kovarian may do what she likes but she is not winning this one!"

"I'm dead either way!" The reply was ripped from his throat, his chest heaving, his hearts heavy with the weight of the situation - groaning, cracking. His voice wavered. "I've only just found you - _by Gallifrey _I'll not lose you too!"

It slipped past so easily, like water would through a strain. He was so angry, so afraid, so trapped - too trapped to think about guarding his words from ears that were not meant to hear them, but when his gaze refocused from the haze of frustration he saw Brooke staring at him - her adam's apple bobbed with one, single gulp - and he realized his mistake. The air hissed from his lungs and his anger visibly dissipated in the wake of the blunder. He went lax against his bonds. He stared at the floor, blinking back hot, salty tears.

How could the Universe be so cruel?

What had he done to deserve this?

"What do you mean, 'lose me too'?" Brooke breathed through the oppressive silence. Her blue eyes hardened to chips of pensive cobalt.

The Doctor immediately regretted ever speaking. How was he to answer? She clearly took after River's timeline more than his in the same way she took after her tenacity and wild hair and penchant for guns and hallucinogenic beauty products. He looked away from her, guilt causing his hearts to groan, shudder, and ache in turn. All of this was his fault. Brooke had been taken by Kovarian, by the Silence, and trained because of him. They were both here, in this room now, because of him. Either way this happened, it would not end well for either of them. He couldn't force Brooke to kill him. The guilt would destroy her - but he couldn't let her die either.

He wasn't a hero. Everything he touched crumbled, poisoned by association. Just like a single drop of Iodine turned life giving water into a deadly toxin - His relation to River and Brooke had turned them into pawns for the Silence. However hard they tried- they would never truly be free - because of him.

And what of Rose? Donna? … Sarah Jane?

His hearts clenched at the thought of all the innocence he'd destroyed, the faces that flicked across his memory, unbidden.

_My Sarah Jane._

He would die before his daughter met the same fate.

"Please Brooke-"

"-What do you mean 'lose you too'?" she demanded, not listening to him. She jerked against the ties that held her to the chair and the piece of furniture scraped painfully toward him, creaking with the effort as she drew near. "Daddy?"

His breath caught in his throat at the endearment - something he hadn't been called in hundreds of years. Not since Gallifrey had burned. Icy fingers of pain grappled with his chest as he looked up into her eyes, seeing constellations, stars, the very heart of time burn behind their gray-blue depths. In that moment he understood what it must cost River to utter her signature phrase.

His tongue ran over his lips as his mouth turned to sand. He took a shuddering breath and whispered, "Spoilers."

She leaned back against her chair, her form going slack with defeat. Her eyes grew misty and she angrily blinked back tears, looking frustrated at her inability to wipe them away. The Doctor's own limbs ached with the desire to do it for her, to take her in his arms and whisper apologies into her curls. She finally broke his gaze, looking away from him and down at the floor. "I'm still not killing you." Her voice was so much weaker now.

He nodded, admitting defeat as well. "I won't make you."

They sat in silence for a few moments - there was no sound beside the thunderous ticking of a clock on the wall. Finally, a light of revelation dawned in Brooke's eyes, a small smile playing on her lips as she looked up at her father again. "Hey, don't worry, Dad - you know what mum says."

He paused and then felt a ghost of a smile spread itself across his face. "There's always a way out."

They heard feet on the stair and the Doctor looked up. Voices called in the corridor, that horrible, sickly splash of sound coming from the Silence behind it. The door swung open again and Kovarian stepped in.

"Ah, back so soon?" the Doctor gave her a taunting smile. He was powerless, powerless except for his ability to tease. "Drop in for tea? - What time is it, anyway? Is it tea-time?" he looked at Brooke and she grinned.

"I hope so!" she glanced at Kovarian, "I'm feeling a wee bit peckish."

Kovarian pursed her lips, unamused as she slipped her black leather gloves on her fingers. "Actually, it is tea time, and I think I'd like to have some entertainment while I have it." Her voice was calculated with just a touch of dry wit. "Would you and Brooke care to join me?"

"Sorry, we're a bit tied up at the moment," Brooke quipped with an impish grin.

Even the Doctor rolled his eyes. "That was terrible."

Her smile sweetened. "Ah, well - this regeneration takes after you in the humor department."

"Oi, I am not that bad - I'm actually funny."

"So you think," Brooke teased.

"That's rude," he huffed, "Very rude - in fact, I ought to ground you."

"Enough!" Kovarian interrupted, her tone sharp and demanding. "It's time for tea."

Suddenly, they remembered the Silence that had been in the room the whole time. The group of them took deliberate steps toward the prisoners. Two came behind the Doctor and Brooke in turn, untying their bonds while more gripped them in their rubbery, cold hands. Another opened the door, and Kovarian stalked out, her heels clacking on the dusty wood floors.

The transition from the small, empty, brightly lit room to the dim corridor was jarring. The Doctor inhaled sharply. Halls branched to the left and to the right, with doors lining their walls. There seemed to be what was left of a kitchen to the left, a dining room. All the windows were shut up, barred from the outside world. The house as a whole was dilapidated and smelled of mold. He wrinkled his nose and frowned. However disgusting, the house positively reeked with memory of another time and place: a peculiar knowing - whispers of the past. He knew this place, yet the specific memory eluded him in hazy, swirling mist.

The mental fog was cleared by a proverbial knife in the form of a little red crayon. It was tossed on the carpet, seemingly left in a hurry. It lay there, forlorn and forgotten next to a drawing of a clock etched in the wall. The scrawled numbers spelled 10:00.

Nausea suddenly rose in his stomach.

His legs nearly gave away at the second clue. It hit him like a thunderclap as he rounded the corner. A staircase was there, rickity, termite-eaten. The pictures hung off of it, completely askew and covered in inches of dust. He thought he might be going mad, seeing things, because this made no sense!

But he could not mistake it when before his waking eyes the staircase flickered and was suddenly replaced with a new one.


	42. The Phantom Paradox

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling) **And we're back with a new chapter! I'm afraid this one opens up more questions than it answers, but I promise you guys that all will be answered and resolved in the end. It's been another crazy couple of weeks, not much to tell you about, I must admit! Oh, besides the fact that my Mythology professor is incredibly awesome and keeps asking me questions about this story, to which I answer "it's far to complicated and you'd have to watch the show and then read it". Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this one. We're back with River and Rory! Sit back, grab a mug of your favorite hot drink, and read and relish it :) Don't forget to leave your dishes in the sink and a review on the way out - reviews are cake.

* * *

><p>42<p>

**The Phantom Paradox**

River fell a step backward as she stared at Rory - impossible Rory. She fought to find her voice and then reached forward, fingers brushing against the smooth skin on the back of his hand. He was solid as could be. This wasn't a dream - a horrible, wonderful dream, was it? At her stricken expression, Rory frowned. "River? What's wrong?"

River's mouth was all sandpapery and she managed a weak smile. "It's just- it's just that it's been a long time for me."

"Oh," a look of realization dawned on his face and he stepped forward and enveloped her in a tight hug. She sucked in an involuntary breath and closed her eyes, memorizing the feel of his arms around her, his breath in her ear, the solid plane of his body against hers as she let her head fall to his shoulder. All was the same as she remembered it. Her heart turned violently in her chest and she thought she may've had enough losing some people and finding others for one day.

"Let's get you home," Rory murmured, rubbing her back, "I think Amy's made some biscuits. I don't know what kind you like in this regeneration - but they're the chocolate chip ones that Mels liked." He made a show of pulling back and dusting her off, making sure she was sorted before he slung his arm around her shoulders once more and began leading her out of the alley.

"I still like those," River nodded. She allowed herself to lean into him as they walked. This was so surreal and she was having a hard time not showing the battling emotions inside of her. Half of her wanted to forget for a few minutes - to go back and relax with her parents and eat biscuits and drink tea and catch up like she'd only just seen them last week. The other half of her knew that every moment of her time was vital while the Doctor and Brooke were still held captive by the Silence.

Reluctantly, she stopped, planting herself in the muddy street at the mouth of the alley. "Rory, stop for a moment."

He frowned and looked at her. "What?"

River swallowed. "You remember Brooke, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "Why?"

"She and the Doctor are in trouble - the Silence have them. That's why I'm here."

She watched as his whole body tensed and his fingers automatically rested on the hilt of his broadsword. At the very mention of the old enemy, his eyes darkened. "Right. Let's go get Amy, and we'll get this sorted."

River nodded, her breaths coming easier as she felt some of the tension in her chest come undone. Immense relief flooded through her at the news that she wouldn't have to handle all of this alone. As talented and capable as she was - sometimes, sometimes even she still got scared.

When they turned onto the street and got a few feet away from that grimy, off-white brick house, Rory stopped short. River could feel the pulse in his wrist quicken, and she looked up at him. Now it was her turn to ask what was wrong.

Rory merely shook his head, taking long strides up the steps of the house, his fingers rushing over the blue wood. "No...no, this is all wrong," he whispered, frowning at the door. He pushed on it. It didn't give way. "River -this is our house! What the hell happened to our house?" he snapped, banging once, twice, thrice - the sound echoing hollowly down the street. Before he could bang again, River stopped him.

She gently pushed him aside and took out her sonic. Rory blinked at her, watching as she sonicked the doorknob. "Where did you-?"

She pushed the door open and winked, saying airily, "Spoilers."

The pair of them walked inside the drafty house. The boards creaked with age, their steps brushed layers of dust away as the door swung shut behind them. The air was dank, and smelled of must. Rory's mouth fell open, then he called into the cold darkness, "Amy?"

More frantically, "Amy!"

He rushed forward, walking into the kitchen where River presumed he'd left her. Everything was boarded up, the wallpaper was peeling right off the walls and the faucet dripped with an unrelenting, final, _tip, tap, tap, tip._

Rory pressed a hand to his head, holding his sword and looking around. "No...this- this isn't right, what happened?" He whirled on River for an explanation. She could only look up at him mutely. He whirled back, opening cupboards, doors, anything.

River looked around at the dilapidated kitchen. "Nobody's been here for a long time, Rory."

"This is my house," he whinged, turning and looking around in confusion. "I just left her not a few minutes ago, right here - she was making biscuits." He sagged against the cupboard and sucked in tremulous breaths of the moldy air, blinking back tears. "Oh god. She's dead, isn't she?"

"I-" River swallowed, trying to search for an answer. She found she didn't have one to give.

"Don't you dare say 'spoilers'!" he snapped, sniffling violently.

She took a cautious step toward him and laid a hand on his firm shoulder. "I don't know," she whispered. "We'll find her, I promise."

Rory sighed and pinched his temples. "I'm sorry, It's not fair to be angry with you."

Ah, Rory. River smiled at that, her brow furrowing in that gentle, patient habit that she'd acquired over the years. "It's alright."

He nodded and started down the hall. "How could the house be this old?"

"Maybe it's not just the house," River replied as her fingertips brushed across the aging, yellowed wallpaper.

"What - you think I'm old?"

No, he was dead. River quickly tossed that thought out the window offhandedly and shook her head to clear it. "I don't know what to think right now."

They continued down the hall. It was dark, dank, and River felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Something was wrong with this place - more than the fact that Rory was in it and it was 2024 and the house was falling apart. There was something decidedly off. River couldn't put her finger on it. It was like... like they were being watched, followed. Like a pair of cold, fishy eyes were pinning her to the ground, though she continued on.

Rory was heartbroken. He was terrified too. This was home, yet it wasn't. What happened when the very place he found comfort in was turned into a place that gave him goosebumps every time a floorboard creaked? It was like finding out that his favorite dish had been poisoned, that his wife hadn't been his wife at all - but a ganger and his real wife was on an asteroid - like finding out that his childhood friend was, after all, his daughter.

He snapped out of his thoughts when River pressed him against the wall. Then, he heard it. The eerie clicking of heels down the hall met his ears. River was breathing hard and she looked at him, then peered around the hall. He felt her arm tense against him, and she swallowed before leaning back and flattening against the hall. "Kovarian," she mouthed to him.

Kovarian? What was she doing here? In his house? Rory frowned.

The pieces were slowly fitting together in River's mind. What she hadn't told Rory was that she'd caught a glimpse of her daughter - the little one - with Kovarian as well. She took a breath, turning and taking Rory by the shoulder. "We need to get out of here."

With two Brooke's in the same house, River had a theory as to how Rory could be here. They passed the kitchen, and that theory was solidified. There in the kitchen, stood Amy, looking out the window and frowning.

Rory blinked. "Amy!"

She turned. "Ror-" she paused when she saw the state of her kitchen. "What the hell? Where's my kitchen?"

She took a cautious step forward and Rory swallowed. "I left to go see what was wrong and then I came back and the house was like this and you were gone..."

"I-I'm right here," she frowned and reached for his hand.

The minute she touched his fingertips, Amy faded out of existence.


	43. It's Timey-Wimey

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **Ugh, sorry, it's been so long since I've updated. You can thank finals for that. Thankfully, finals are now done and I was able to finish this chapter! You guys ought to have fun reading it *sarcasm*, however - since I'm now on Spring Break, expect a new update within a few days (and I'm not lying on this one, I have the chapter started and everything!) I won't let you suffer long. We've now got it so that we can see both Rory and River's side of the story as well as the Doctor and Brooke's, that way you get an update on everything. Let me tell you - it's not pretty. Kovarian's getting very, very ruthless. Anyway, sit down, have a belated cup of tea and some cookies and enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review on your way out! I'll see you all very soon.

* * *

><p>43<p>

**It's Timey-Wimey**

Rory stumbled backward with a sharp cry. That feeling of falling, when your stomach is where your heart should be and your heart is in your mouth and you can't breathe slammed down on him. He whirled on River simply because she was there. "Where is she? Where did she go?" he demanded.

River took a step back, looking up at him with calm, deliberate features. "She's back at home, Rory. She's fine, she's good."

"She just...dissapeared! How can she be fine?"

River glanced down a hallway, hearing footsteps and quickly smothered his mouth before he could make another sound. "Dad, I know you don't understand, but you can't shout. Kovarian's in this house and we can't have her hearing us," she hissed. Rory's eyes were wide with anger, but after a moment he nodded and River sighed and let go of him.

"What is going on?" he asked her in a shaky, low voice.

River took a breath. "I couldn't be sure...not until now..."

"-_River_."

"It's a phantom paradox."

"What?" He frowned and looked around. "What's a phantom paradox?" Paradoxes were never good. They usually ended up with him dying.

River was staring at the floor, her thumb rubbing circles on her arm as she tried to think of how best she could explain this to him. "The house is... time has gone all wrong."

Rory huffed. "When doesn't it?"

Patiently, she stopped speaking and waited for him to be quiet again before she continued. "There are two Brookes, little Brooke and our Brooke. The trouble is, you can't have two of the same person in one place or the place starts to become what it isn't."

"What?"

"It's trying to reconcile the two timelines - the house. That's why one minute it seems new and it seems old the next," she explained gently, "The new house is from older Brooke's time-line, because now as she knows you and the house - it's when you and Amy were," she paused and corrected herself, "Are living in it. But little Brooke - and I'm afraid this is a spoiler, but it can't be helped - in little Brooke's timeline you aren't living here anymore, and the house has been run down."

Rory thought he should probably forgo asking River what happened to Amy and him, that would probably just end in another spoiler. "So- when I left... then the house changed into the old version, but when we came back it changed back?"

"For a moment, yes. All the timelines are together, and they never were supposed to be, so space is trying to compensate for what time wants it to be - but it can't, not according to the rules of physics."

"So what's going to happen?" Rory bit his lip, fiddling with his fingers.

"Either this place is destroyed from the paradox and everybody's timelines get changed," River began, but then paused and bit her tongue.

"Or...?" Rory prompted.

"Or one of the Brookes ceases to exist."

Rory gulped and fiddled with his sword. "How long before one of those happens?"

"I don't know," River admitted. "I wish I did... but there's no way of telling. The fluctuations between the houses are just going to get worse until something must be righted."

"There has to be a way to fix it, yeah?" Rory all but demanded. Neither of those options sounded very appealing.

River inhaled sharply through her nose and her eyes steeled, form settling down to business. "We have to get the Doctor and Brooke out and back to their own timeline. None of us were ever supposed to be here."

Rory nodded. "Then let's do it."

* * *

><p>"Put him up there," Kovarian nodded towards a cage-like device. Two of the Silence complied, locking the Doctor in the device while a third slammed Brooke down into a chair. Two metal spiders walked up it and clamped in place. Brooke jerked against the restraints and glared at Kovarian, who merely smirked back and nodded towards her tea-tray. "Jammy-Dodger?"<p>

"Don't mind if I do, thanks," the Doctor called from his prison.

Kovarian rolled her eyes. "I think it would be wise not to aggravate me, Doctor. That's one."

"One what?" he stood and paced, poking the device and then licking it. It was some sort of metal, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He frowned and turned to Kovarian, who merely watched him bemusedly.

"As Melody might say - Spoilers," she chirped, sipping on her tea.

"Her name is _River," _Brooke snapped. Kovarian rose to slap her again for her insolence, but stopped when the Doctor lunged forward in his cage.

"Don't you dare touch her, do not harm her in any way!" he ground out, eyes smoldering. He looked formidable, restrained as he was.

The surprise at his outburst forced Kovarian to sit, though she smirked again. "That's two, then." Her finger rimmed the golden paint around her teacup and she took a sip of it. "If I were you, I'd try not to go any higher. You see, Doctor," another casual sip of tea, "that device is designed to magnetize the iron in your blood." She smiled sweetly and glanced up at him, a demure look on her face as she stared into his wide, confused face. "I can pull it out of you drop by drop."

The Doctor swallowed. A human had around eight to ten pints of blood in his body - he had twice that. However, even with sixteen pints of blood coursing through his body, he knew he couldn't afford to lose too much - not if he was going to remain useful to Brooke. He needed to be level headed and able to think, not passed out on the floor or worse...dead.

She set down her teacup and walked over to Brooke, her fingers running over the restraints and then through her hair, beginning to braid it as if she were her mother. "So, Brooke, this is your choice. You can watch him die slowly as I extract the blood from his system and drain it out through his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears... or you can ask me to let you take that gun over there," her eyes flicked to the weapon that a Silent was placing on the table, "And shoot him."

She let Brooke go and returned to her chair, taking a languorous bite of a Jammy-Dodger and then snapping her fingers. The same Silent returned and handed her a set of controls. Kovarian smiled and looked back at the Doctor, who was staring back at her, cutting quick glances between her and his daughter. His hearts were pounding her chest as he watched her fingers hover over the switch.

They flipped it and a hum began to fill the air.

Kovarian's voice rose above the deathly sound. "One."

The Time Lord was forced to his knees as blood began to stream from his nose. His fingers clawed into the metal floor of his kennel. Brooke strained against the spiders, feeling them dig into her wrists. She watched him writhe, eyes as big as saucers, endless depths of fear and pain. She could almost feel the way his hearts were clenching in his chest, racing to pump blood that was being sucked out of his body.

She couldn't say anything. She couldn't give Kovarian her victory. She bit her lip so hard that a bead of blood was drawn and closed her eyes, clenching them shut and wishing she could reach up and cover her ears from the agony just a few feet away from her.

A click of the switch reverberated through the room a few moments later. Brooke slowly opened her eyes and her hearts stuttered in her chest as she saw the proud Oncoming Storm on the ground, moaning, in a pool of his own blood. Kovarian sat back, sated, in her chair, and took another sip of tea. "I'm sure you've figured out by now that the numbers represent pints. Don't worry - you've still got around fifteen left in your body. I'll enjoy extracting every single one."

The Doctor shuddered on the floor and pushed himself up, leaning against the bars and wiping his face. He glanced over at Brooke and gave his pale lips curled into a weak smile. She gulped and looked away, feeling a tear roll down her cheek and splash to the floor below. She had to get them out, she had to - but how? She couldn't let him die. She wasn't going to kill him. There had to be something... but if there was, she couldn't see it. She heard her father whimper and knew that Kovarian must be moving to flick the switch again.

That sickening hum filled the air, and Kovarian called, "Two."

This had to be hell.


	44. Geronimo

**A/N: (Feel free to skip my useless rambling) **As promised, the next chapter is here! I have to say that this one was extremely painful to write. I'm almost reluctant to post it. I will say that it's been an incredibly turbulent, exciting couple of days as my second novel has been finished and now I'm sitting around, twiddling my thumbs and wondering what to do with my life (Write a new novel, I suppose). Anyway, I hope you all are having a lovely Spring Break (if you are, in fact on it!). I know I am - I must say I've been slacking off and playing Lego Star Wars and Sims quite a lot, but that's what breaks are for, right? *chuckles*. So, sit down in the living room, grab a hand to hold (you may want one), and here's complimentary fluffy blankets and tea and hot chocolate and whatever your heart desires ;) Enjoy! And please don't forget to leave a review on your way out. I'll see you all soon for the final installment.

* * *

><p>43<p>

**Geronimo**

The Doctor lay, limp, against the bars of his cage. Kovarian sat with them into the night, pressing the button on a whim and watching the blood sucked out of her victim. Brooke had long stopped watching, her eyes shut tight, her head down. She couldn't stop the noise, though. She knew that Kovarian's finger was hovering over the button again when a strangled whimper reverberated from the Doctor's lips. She wasn't going to kill him. Kovarian couldn't win. Yet- either way, it seemed they would lose.

The sickening whirr of the machine rang out through the room, followed like thunder by the cries of the Doctor. He could feel his hearts clenching in his chest, shuddering, rushing to pump blood that was simply not there. His fingers scrabbled for purchase, trying to push back against the pain, to fight, to be strong - but he had no strength left. His fingernails were bleeding from scraping on the metal - as if he needed to lose more blood - and his face was streaked with it, warm and metallic. The pain, like a fire licking at his limbs, a burn, the feeling of all of his insides being pulled to his outside...

Brooke's eyes opened at the second cry and her hearts stopped when she saw him looking at her. His mouth pled with her, _please_. He mouthed his silently. _Please, Brooke, please. _Her eyes slammed shut and she shook her head. Another whimper. Her wrists were raw from trying to get out of her restraints. Her hands had gone numb, she couldn't feel her fingers.

She couldn't do the thing Kovarian wanted her to do. The Doctor couldn't last much longer. The last she checked, she'd extracted seven pints out of him. He could safely lose eight. A few more pints and he wouldn't recover - if they got to recover at all. Brooke could do the math. She also knew Kovarian well, well enough to know that she wasn't going to let her live once she had no use for Brooke. If the Doctor died, either way it happened, she was dead to. However much she hated to admit it, it would be better for him if she shot him in the head and ended his misery now. Never mind her guilt - if Kovarian killed her, then she supposed that wouldn't matter anymore.

No.

No, Brooke.

No.

She wasn't going to go there. She _couldn't go there._ Kovarian was not going to make her kill her father. River's words rang in her mind.

_There's always a way out._

She bit her lip and began to think, barely registering that his screams had ended. Kovarian must be granting him a reprieve in between pints. That gave her time. She didn't know how many bullets were in the gun. One? One... one might be enough. Her eyes flew open just as Kovarian's fingers hovered over the button again.

"Wait!"

Kovarian jumped and a smirk slicked across her face. She turned and looked at Brooke, a new, intrigued, glint in her eyes that was full of sick excitement. "Yes?"

Brooke swallowed and glanced at the Doctor. His eyes were widened, his chest was heaving. She looked back at Kovarian. "I'll do it."

"I want more than that," Kovarian snapped.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on! I'm offering!"

"But you're not _asking." _

Her eyes widened with horror and Brooke started in her chair. She wanted her to... to _ask_ to kill her own father like it was a privilege? Her gaze cut back to the Doctor and she couldn't bear the look in his eyes. He gulped and his jaw was trembling. Brooke looked away from him. "Please," she whispered, "Please _let_ me kill him, Madame Kovarian."

A sadistic, pleased purr from the Silence echoed throughout the room.

The restraints melted away and Kovarian stood, picking up the gun, her fingers murmuring over the hammer. She handed it to Brooke with a twisted smile and sat. The girl stood, feeling the reassuring press of cold, calculated metal in her hand, and that gave her the strength to turn and walk to the cage.

She stood before the Doctor, the goblin, the trickster, the warrior, the Oncoming Storm, the Lord of Time.

Her Daddy.

She raised the gun and pressed it to his head. She looked down at him and her lip trembled as she stared at his pain-stricken face. He stared up at her, eyes wide and misty, skin stained with his own blood. His limbs were trembling. He was trying to say something. Brooke shook her head, pleading with her eyes for him to be silent, but he let out a strangled noise and grasped at the hem of her sleeve, tugging. He sputtered out a few more whimpers in the back of his throat and Brooke let out a small, broken sob when she finally was able to read his lips.

_-Forgiven. Always and completely forgiven._

Brooke nodded to let him know that she'd understood, and a small smile graced his face and he closed his eyes. A click reverberated through the room as she let the safety off...

She whirled.

Brooke pulled the trigger and Kovarian let out a scream. The older woman managed to duck just in time as the spiders scrambled to their previous captive. They leapt, hissing, and the gun went skittering across the floor as they pinned Brooke to the ground. Kovarian stood, taking deep breaths as she stalked over. A Silence was raising its hand. Kovarian stopped it.

"No. I want to kill this one myself," she snapped.

Brooke spat at her and she didn't hesitate to slap her for it. Kovarian knelt and reached for the gun, her fingers fisting violently in the girl's hair. "I would've been so proud of you, Brooke," she whispered, "But you and your mother continue to disappoint. I'm afraid I'll just have to do this."

Brooke's eyes closed. A gunshot rang out.

She expected pain, shock, her eyes to jerk open, the involuntary twitch of her body. _Something. _She didn't expect the warm splatter on her face.

"I'm 'fraid you won't."

A male voice, one that took a little while to register in Brooke's mind. When it did, her eyes snapped open and her legs kicked out. The room dissolved into pandemonium as she heard the ring of steel, gunfire, and the angry scream of the Silence. The spiders decided they had better things to do than restrain her, and she leapt to her feet to see Rory running a Silent through with his broadsword.

She grinned and ran over to the controls of the machine, frantically pushing buttons to release the Doctor. The cage rose from over him and he dissolved onto the floor, but she would have time to look after him later. She grabbed the gun from the floor and shot a Silent, whirling to catch another in the chest. It was a delicate dance, and she found herself back to back with Rory.

"'Bout time you got here," she teased with half a giddy, relieved laugh as she fired another round into a Silent that was making its way through the door.

"Yeah, sorry, we kind of got held up." There was a sickening crunch and a head went flying.

"We?" Brooke glanced back at him.

"River. She should be here any minute with our ride," he replied.

Speak of the devil, through the smoke and above the cries of dying Silence, the sound of the space-time continuum being rent apart rippled through the room. The air began to swirl, and Brooke smiled as the TARDIS faded into view and River stepped out, guns blazing.

Between the three of them, they made quick work of the Silence. Everything else was forgotten as the battle quieted and they rushed to the Doctor. He was slowly trying to rise from his position.

Rory crouched. "Oh my god- what did she do?" he demanded, looking him over and trying to find where he was bleeding from. He tore off a bit of his shirt and held it to the Doctor's nose.

Brooke bit her lip. "The machine - it... it pulls the blood out of you," she replied.

River's hands stroked the Doctor's damp hair. "We'd better get him back to the TARDIS, he's lost a lot of blood."

"Yeah, c'mon," Brooke nodded and stood, helping River up as Rory put one of the Doctor's gangly arms over his shoulder.

The Doctor shook his head. "No- no, I'm quite alright," he insisted. "Brooke, Brooke!"

"Right here," Brooke rushed to his side and grabbed both of his arms to support him. "Dad, I'm alright, I promise. I'm okay."

"Dad-?" Rory's brow furrowed and he glanced at River, who merely shook her head.

Brooke was checking the Doctor over, reminding him that she was okay and that they were going to be fine when another, revolting sound met their ears.

A stray gunshot.

Brooke's eyes jerked open and she stood there, stock still for a moment as she fought for breath. Strangled, pained breaths, caught in her chest, her fingers clenched onto the Doctor's sleeves.

River's eyes focused on who stood in the doorway - the person that had been completely forgotten in the fray.

Kovarian.

She stood there, eyepatch askew, gun still held aloft in her bleeding hand, a pleased smile on her face.

River didn't hesitate to raise her gun and shoot her, and the body slumped to the floor with a dull thud.

Brooke's legs began to buckle and the Doctor tried to support her. "No, no- Brooke!"

River lunged and caught her as she began to fall. She lowered her to the floor and Rory ran to check her pulse and to find the wound. Brooke's head came to rest in her mother's lap and River pulled her hand from her lower back. It was stained with black blood.

She looked up at Rory, seeing his eyes widen.

"Damn."

River nodded, bile rising in her throat. She fumbled for Brooke's hand as the Doctor all but fell to the floor beside them.

"It's okay, it's okay, right? She's a Time-lady, she'll regenerate," he whispered, reaching over to stroke her hair.

Rory looked up at him and then River. "If she is, then she should be fine."

River's eyes closed and her hearts turned violently inside of her chest. Brooke was coughing, horrible, hacking, wet sounds, and she reached to gently dab at a bead of blood from the girl's mouth with the pad of her thumb. "No, she won't."

The Doctor crumpled. "What do you mean she won't?" he demanded. "She can't have less than eight regenerations left."

"She's on her third," River affirmed, nodding.

"So why doesn't she regenerate?" he shouted, his voice hoarse and raspy.

River's eyes squeezed shut and a tear streaked down her cheek. "Because she _can't_, Doctor! She gave them all to me!"

So much for spoilers. Right now, River hardly cared. Her daughter was dying in her arms and it was her fault. If Brooke hadn't come to the Library and wasted all of her regenerations in saving her life, then she would have regenerated - she would've been okay.

"What?" he breathed, his eyes wide.

River looked away from him and shook her head. A pained trill of a sound emitted from Brooke's throat and she reached over to soothe her, stroking her curls. "Shh, love, don't... please."

Brooke shook her head. "S-stop," she whispered, "Won't..." she coughed, "Have you fighting on my deathbed."

The Doctor looked up at River, a stricken look in his eyes as he reached for her hand. River took it and gave him a wan smile. "Sorry," he whispered to Brooke, taking her hand and squeezing it.

She squeezed feebly back. "So-I... mum," she looked back over at River.

River leaned closer. "What, darling?"

"Promise me...you go back and find Dad... he needs you, go find Dad."

River swallowed and nodded. "I promise."

She gave her a small smile. "It's-" she choked on her blood and then coughed again, wincing. "It's okay to cry. I'm only dying here." River looked away from her with a sharp laugh, blinking back tears. Brooke glanced back at the Doctor and then whispered. "Fish fingers and custard?"

Despite himself, he gave her a brave smile and squeezed her hand tightly, bending down to kiss her forehead. "Fish fingers and custard."

She managed a weak nod and frightened tears were beginning to burn at the edges of her vision. The Doctor reached and dried them, feeling the lump in his throat grow impossibly bigger.

"Alright," Brooke breathed, "I... think...I think I'm going to... sign off now..."

"No," River pleaded, her voice trembling.

Brooke shook her head, making it very, very clear that she didn't have any time left. In a vain attempt to comfort her mum, she gave her hand one last squeeze. "Geronimo."

The coughing and choking reflex she'd been holding back finally overpowered her. A few more violent, gut wrenching hacking and her hand went limp in the Doctor's, her eyes staring unseeingly up at the ceiling.

River let out a loud cry, her arms lifting Brooke's body up and cradling her to her chest, rocking her and burying her face in her curls. The Doctor sagged to the floor, the only energy he had left was spent rubbing his wife's back as she cried.

It was Rory that reached over and brushed Brooke's eyelids closed.


	45. Epilogue

**A/N: (feel free to skip my useless rambling) **And now we come to the end. It has been such an incredible journey for me writing this story. I can't tell you how attached I've grown to writing it and being with the characters and with you guys every week. I would've liked to kept it going, perhaps, I think every author does to some degree, however all things must eventually come to the end. I can say that my writing has improved so much since the first chapter. It's actually quite amusing to go back and read it. I feel like there's going to be a peculiar hole in my writing routine now that I this one is finished. Thank you all for being such amazing readers and sticking it out (I know it's stupidly long and I'm not always reliable on my updating), I hope it was worth it. [Shameless self-promoting alert] It was to me. Don't worry, though, I have a new story in the works. It'll be a crossover between Doctor Who and Stargate SG-1, with elements of Alice and Wonderland. For all of my lovely Doctor Who readers, don't feel intimidated. You don't need knowledge of the other show to really understand it. [Shameless self-promotion has ended]. Well, anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed this insane ride as much as I have. Have a cookie, any cookie, and some tea, and get down to reading! Don't forget to give me a review and maybe a hug (if you want) on the way out. I'll see you all soon with my next story. :)

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

At length, River's tears stopped and the Doctor had slumped, exhausted, nearly asleep on the floor. Rory chewed on his lip and then stood, helping the Doctor up and glancing around the room. He then looked at his daughter and gave her a sad smile.

"C'mon, let's do this properly."

River slowly managed to ease herself up off the floor, Brooke's body still cradled to her chest. She couldn't help the guilt that was tearing her heart apart as they stepped into the TARDIS. She glanced around the control room. The TARDIS had gone quiet. That reassuring thrum was completely deadened and River wondered for half a moment if she was like this, for this moment, for all of time and space. After all, Brooke was a little bit hers as well. Rory glanced at River and reached over to squeeze her hand. River gave him a shaky smile and then nodded to the Doctor. "Take him to the medical room, have him rest. He should be back up to speed soon if he hasn't lost too much blood. I'm... going to go get her ready," she nodded toward the body in her arms.

Rory was looking at her with such fatherly affection that it almost hurt. "Are you sure you want to do that alone?"

She swallowed and nodded. "I want to be alone."

Understanding crossed his face and he turned and half-helped, half-carried the Doctor back to the medbay. He laid him down and the TARDIS supplied him with a blanket and a rather comfortable pillow. The Doctor had a dark look in his eyes as his fingers wrung at the edge of the blanket. He obviously wasn't going to sleep.

Rory hovered uncertainly. "Do you... need a transfusion?"

"No," the Doctor shook his head listlessly, "No, I'm alright."

Rory pulled up a chair. "Is 'alright' Time Lord for 'really not alright'?"

He looked up at him with an unfathomable look in his old eyes, and a short, low, mirthless chuckle emitted from him. "You know, someone else asked me that a very, very long time ago." His fingers tapped on the edge of the bed. "Why? Are you alright too?"

Rory shook his head. "No, I'm not."

Good old Rory, always honest, always telling it how it was.

Hours passed and slowly the Doctor felt his strength returning. He knew he'd have to move on somehow from this, to put it behind him. It seemed completely impossible. Brooke was- had been- would be- his daughter, just like River was his wife. He'd seen them both to their deaths. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle the second time around when he was so, so much older.

He was just managing to get back on his feet again when River came in with a small box. On it, Gallifreyan symbols were etched. He recognized them and walked over with some difficulty, his fingers tracing them.

"That's her name."

"Yes it is." River glanced down at the container. "I decided it was only right that she have a Gallifreyan funeral."

His fingers tentatively lifted the lid, and a broken quirk of a smile spread across his face when he saw the candle set in the ashes, not lit. Yet.

"The TARDIS made it," River supplied quietly. She looked up at him and brushed his cheek. "She lived a good life, Doctor, I promise you that. She was nearly a hundred."

He shook his head and took her hand. "You should go."

River's brow furrowed. "What?"

"You should go, it's quite obvious I'm not your Doctor, love," he whispered. "Go find yours and have the funeral."

"You should have closure too," River whispered.

He laughed shortly. "I will when you find me." He fumbled for his sonic and took her Vortex manipulator from her pocket, wrapping it around her wrist. "Besides, Brooke told you to go find me. I think you ought to honor her last wish." His throat suddenly grew thick and he blinked back tears.

"She didn't specify when."

"I get the feeling it was urgent," he replied, taking the box so she could enter in the coordinates. River bit her lip and then put a finger under his chin and kissed him gently. It wasn't any of their normal, heated, passionate kisses, just one that was chaste and laced with grief.

She pulled back and then went to give Rory a tight hug. Tears sprung to River's eyes for the umpteenth time that day. "It was really, really good to see you again, Dad," she whispered.

Rory nodded into her hair and hugged her back. "You're sure you don't want to come home and see Amy?"

River shook her head, wiping at a rogue tear. "No, I shouldn't." She stepped back from them and then put the coordinates into the wristband, then gave the two a brave smile, and she was gone.

Rory clapped a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "Let's get you some tea, hm?"

They spent the rest of the day, sitting on the edge of the TARDIS doors, hovering in deep space and drinking tea in complete silence.

* * *

><p>River landed quietly in the control room of the TARDIS. She held the box one hand and listened. The ship welcomed her home with a happy, comforting thrum, and she walked over with a small smile, her fingers running lovingly over the controls. "I'm back," she whispered.<p>

"River?" was the surprised call from down the hall.

She turned to see the Doctor standing in the entry to one of the halls, holding a cup of tea and looking at her like he's seen a ghost. Which, she supposed, he just had.

She gave him a wan smile. "Hello, Sweetie."

The Doctor gaped like a fish for her for a few moments and then managed to ask. "When are you?"

"Post-library," she said, not being able to bite back the chuckle at his shocked expression.

"Post?" he breathed.

She walked up to him and took one of his hands in her own and kissed him. "Well, not entirely. I am Post-Library... but Brooke's dead." He was staring at her with such confusion that she had to elaborate. "Doctor, you remember how I told you when Brooke was dying that she'd given me all her regenerations?"

It took a few seconds but then he stepped back and let out a short sigh, eyes wide. "Oh."

River nodded miserably. "Yes."

This was her Doctor. The one that had sent her off not a week ago from Darillium with tears in his eyes. She hadn't understood why he was crying. She wasn't used to not knowing every little thing about him, his reasons for why he did things and why he acted the way he did. Now, again, she had the upper hand.

Understanding, worry, and hot tears filled the Doctor's eyes and he closed the space between them, his arms wrapped around her and cradling the back of her head in one large hand. "River, it wasn't your fault she died."

River shook her head, looking away from him. "If she hadn't given me her regenerations-"

The Doctor pressed a finger to her lips and hushed her. "That was her choice, just like it was yours to give me your regenerations at Berlin. She did it for you, for me, and for Sarah-Jane. Give her that, love."

She sniffled and buried her face in his chest, allowing herself to be held for a few moments. The Doctor rubbed her back and stroked her hair, murmuring comforting nonsense in her ear until finally, she felt like she had her emotions back under control and reached for the container she'd left on the console.

"I suppose we'd better have the funeral."

The Doctor looked at it, recognition in his eyes as his fingers once again traced Brooke's name. "I suppose we'd better."

They walked to the TARDIS doors and the Doctor opened them. Immediately, the ship provided a bubble so they could sit on the edge safely and overlook the brilliant blues and greens and purples of the nebula that they were sitting just outside of.

The ritual was performed in silence. The Doctor procured a match and struck it on the side of the doorframe. The flame hissed to life, and River opened the top of the box and he lit the candle.

She closed it, watching as the circles were backlit, flickering like the light of regeneration. The Doctor looked up at her with an unspoken command for her to do the honors, and she snuffed out the first flame. He allowed her to relight it, and then he snuffed it out a second time. A third time this was repeated, but the last flame was allowed to endure. Then, together they pushed the container out and watched it float out to join the stars.

He pressed a kiss to the side of her head, arm encircling her shoulders. They sat there until River nodded off, understandably emotionally and physically exhausted. He stood and gathered her up, carrying her back to their bedroom. The TARDIS shut the doors behind them.

He laid her down on the crimson bed, pulling back the covers and tucking her in. The Doctor sat on the edge of a bed, thanking whatever god was out there that he hadn't lost her. He didn't think that he could ever manage with River.

He stood and swallowed thickly, walking to the wooden cot in the corner where golden stars hung above a little person. He crouched, rocking it a little before picking up the baby, minding her head, and pressing a kiss to it. He looked down at the blue-eyed baby in his arms, his thumb whispering over the soft skin of her perfect arm.

"I haven't told you about your big sister yet, have I, Sarah-Jane?" He smiled and sat with her on the edge of the bed. "I haven't told you about Brooklyn Amelia Pond." He paused, acidic tears blurring his vision before he wiped them away with his sleeve as Sarah-Jane tried to get her Dad's bowtie into her mouth so she could explore the taste. "She was, you know," he whispered, a fond glint in his eyes, "A _Pond._ And she was nothing short of amazing."

* * *

><p><em>Fin.<em>


End file.
